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Boko Haram's resurgence: Why Nigeria's military is struggling to hold the line

Boko Haram's resurgence: Why Nigeria's military is struggling to hold the line

The Hill26-05-2025
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A resurgence of Boko Haram attacks is shaking Nigeria's northeast, as Islamic extremists have repeatedly overrun military outposts, mined roads with bombs, and raided civilian communities since the start of the year, raising fears of a possible return to peak Boko Haram-era insecurity despite the military's claims of successes.
Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict, now Africa's longest struggle with militancy, has spilled into Nigeria's northern neighbors, resulted in the death of around 35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than 2 million others, according to the United Nations.
In the latest attack late last week in the village of Gajibo in Borno state, the epicenter of the crisis, the extremists killed nine members of a local militia that supports the Nigerian military, after soldiers deserted the base when becoming aware of the insurgents' advance, according to the group's claim and local aid workers. That is in addition to roadside bombs and deadly attacks on villages in recent months.
Boko Haram has since broken into two factions.
One of the them is backed by the Islamic State group and is known as the Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP. It has become notorious for targeting military positions and has overrun the military on at least 15 occasions this year, killing soldiers and stealing weapons, according to an Associated Press count, experts and security reports reviewed for this story.
On the other hand, the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, or JAS, faction has increasingly resorted to attacking civilians and perceived collaborators, and thrives on robberies and abductions for ransom.
In May, ISWAP struck outposts in Gajibo, Buni Gari, Marte, Izge, Rann, and launched a twin assault on the Nigeria-Cameroon joint base in Wulgo and Soueram in Cameroon. Other attacks this year have hit Malam Fatori, Goniri, Sabon Gari, Wajiroko and Monguno, among others. The group often attacks at night.
Malik Samuel, senior researcher at non-profit Good Governance Africa, said that ISWAP's success is as a result of its territorial expansion following gains against rival JAS as well as a decentralized structure that has enhanced its ability to conduct 'coordinated, near-simultaneous attacks across different regions,' Samuel said.
'The unpredictability of attacks under this framework illustrates ISWAP's growing strategic sophistication,' Samuel said.
External support from IS in Iraq and Syria is also a critical resource to the militants, said Samuel, who has interviewed ex-fighters. Such support is evident in ISWAP's evolving tactics, including nighttime raids, rapid assaults with light but effective weaponry, and the use of modified commercial drones to drop explosives, Samuel said.
Ali Abani, a local nonprofit worker familiar with the military operations in Borno's strategic town of Dikwa, said that the army bases are understaffed and located in remote areas, making them vulnerable to attacks.
'When these gunmen come, they just overpower the soldiers,' Abani said.
Reinforcements, either in the form of air support or nearby ground troops, are often too slow to arrive, allowing the militants enough time to strip the outposts of weapons needed to bolster their arsenal, he added, recalling a May 12 attack during which soldiers fled as they were outnumbered, leaving the extremists to cart away weaponry.
There also have been reports of former militants who continued to work as informants and logistics handlers after claiming to have repented.
At its peak in 2013 and 2014, Boko Haram gained global notoriety after kidnapping 276 Chibok schoolgirls and controlled an area the size of Belgium.
While it has lost much of that territory on the back of military campaigns, the new surge in Boko Haram attacks has raised fears about a possible return to such a gloomy past.
Borno Gov. Babagana Zulum warned recently of lost gains after raising concerns that military formations in the state are being dislodged 'almost on a daily basis without confrontation.'
Federal lawmakers continue to highlight the extremists' growing sophistication and advanced weaponry, calling on the government to bolster the capabilities of the military.
The Nigerian military didn't respond to a request for comment. Last Friday, senior commanders visited one of the troubled areas, Gamboru on the border with Cameroon, promising the deployment of more troops to combat Boko Haram.
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Democrats see weaponization blitz in moves from DOJ, intelligence leaders
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time19 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Democrats see weaponization blitz in moves from DOJ, intelligence leaders

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Us to Take Cut of AI Chip Sales to China. Security Risk or Easy Money?
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Us to Take Cut of AI Chip Sales to China. Security Risk or Easy Money?

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Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on a House panel focusing on competition with China, also raised concerns over the reported agreement, calling it "a dangerous misuse of export controls that undermines our national security." "Chip export controls aren't bargaining chips, and they're not casino chips either. We shouldn't be gambling with our national security to raise revenue," he told the Associated Press. A NVIDIA chip is displayed at the NVIDIA booth during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on July 16, 2025. A NVIDIA chip is displayed at the NVIDIA booth during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on July 16, 2025. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images Nvidia disputes that the H20 poses military risks and denies Chinese state media claims that its chips contain "backdoors" or "kill switches." 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Islamic court in Indonesia sentences 2 men to public caning over sexual acts: kissing and hugging
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Yahoo

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Islamic court in Indonesia sentences 2 men to public caning over sexual acts: kissing and hugging

Islamic court in Indonesia sentences 2 men to public caning over sexual acts: kissing and hugging BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — An Islamic court in Indonesia 's conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning, 80 times each, after Islamic religious police caught them engaged in what the court deemed were sexual acts: hugging and kissing. The trial at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, was held behind closed doors. Judges have the authority to limit public access in such a case and open it only for the verdict. The two men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park and reported it to police patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging, which the court considered to be a sexual act. The lead judge, Rokhmadi M. Hum, said the two college students were 'legally and convincingly' proven to have violated Islamic law by committing acts that lead to gay sexual relations. The court didn't publicly identify the men. Prosecutors previously sought 85 strokes of the cane for each, but the three-judge panel decided on what they described as lenient punishment because the men were outstanding students who were polite in court, cooperated with authorities and had no previous convictions. The judges also ordered the time they have served to be deducted from their sentence. It means the number of lashes will be reduced by four as they have been detained for four months. The prosecutor, Alfian, who like many Indonesians uses only a single name, said he was not satisfied with the lighter sentence. But he said he will not appeal. Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia allowed to observe a version of Islamic law. It allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including gay sex. Caning is also punishment for adultery, gambling, drinking and for women who wear tight clothes and men who skip Friday prayers. Indonesia's secular central government granted Aceh the right to implement the law in 2006 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist war. Aceh implemented an expansion in 2015 that extended the law to non-Muslims, who account for about 1% of the province's population. Human rights groups have criticized the law, saying it violates international treaties signed by Indonesia protecting the rights of minorities. Indonesia's national criminal code doesn't regulate homosexuality. Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented. In February, the same court sentenced two men to public caning up to 85 times for gay sex after neighborhood vigilantes in Banda Aceh suspected them of being gay and broke into their rented room to catch them naked and hugging each other. ___ Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. Yayan Zamzami, The Associated Press

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