Reuters reports that on 7 July suspected Islamist militants launched an attack in Dabna, a village near the administrative area of Hong in the state of Adamawa, in northeast Nigeria. James Pukuma, chairman of the Hong administrative area, told Reuters that 18 people had been killed when a group of gunmen on motorcycles stormed the village. Some other residents were forced to flee their houses.
Nigeria is already fighting a 12-year battle with Islamist extremists Boko Haram and its splinter, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP). From its territorial base on the banks and islands of Lake Chad, this jihadist group is waging a guerrilla war across north-eastern Nigeria and elsewhere on the lake’s periphery and, according to the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, it is growing in power and influence in the region, by filling gaps in governance and service delivery. This war shows little sign of ending. Indeed, attacks by Islamist militants have been intensifying in northeast Nigeria in recent months, with dozens of soldiers killed and thousands of Nigerians displaced. On the following 9 July, as stated by other data by Reuters, militants killed at least 45 people in an attack on the town of Faru in northwest Nigeria.
Africa is a frontier for the expansion of ISIS-influenced organizations. In recent years, several African regions, including West Africa and the Sahel, have seen a surge in Islamist militant activity. This is why, according to the Organization for World Peace, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS may be redefining the locations of its focus from Iraq and Syria to Africa. At the same time, the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank group, is setting up projects specifically in Nigeria to respond to the trauma of conflict and displacement.
Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gunmen-kill-least-45-people-northwest-nigerian-town-2021-07-09/
Author Jasmina Saric; Editor Gianpaolo Mascaro
