An Insider Account of the Jihadist Insurgency in West Africa (I)

Over the past few months, ‘Adnan Absi’- an Islamic State-aligned jihadist active on social media- has issued a multi-part series discussing the history of the jihadist insurgency in West Africa (centred on Nigeria): in particular, the evolution of the group’s ‘West Africa Province’, which was initially constituted following the pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State’s caliph (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi) by Abu Bakr Shekau, who led the group Jama‘at Ahl al-Sunna lil-Da‘wa al-Jihad (‘The Group of the Sunnis for Da‘wa and Jihad), commonly known as Boko Haram. As has been documented previously, however, a split subsequently occurred in which Shekau’s faction lost recognition as the Islamic State’s official affiliate and ended up being at war with the ‘West Africa Province.’

Although ‘West Africa Province’ launched a large-scale offensive against Shekau’s group in 2021 and Shekau himself was killed, the split continues to have ramifications today with occasional reports of clashes between ‘West Africa Province’ and remnants of Shekau’s allies. Indeed, in its al-Naba’ newsletter, the Islamic State published an account of ‘Abu Yahya al-Muhajir’, who was originally from Niger, joined the group’s West Africa affiliate, and was killed by the ‘Khawarij’ (the Islamic State’s designation for Shekau and his allies).

Below is a translation of the first three parts of Absi’s account of the ‘West Africa’ insurgency. The series will be continued in subsequent posts.