Nigeria\u2019s Boko Haram jihadist group has confirmed the death of its chief Abubakar Shekau, who sources say died during infighting with a rival Islamic State-allied faction, according to a video message from its presumed new commander Bakura Modu.
In the short video in Arabic, top Boko Haram commander Bakura Modu, also known as Sahaba, urged his faction\u2019s commanders to remain loyal despite the loss of their historic commander.
Shekau\u2019s death was seen a major shift in Nigeria\u2019s conflict, though Islamic State in West Africa Province or ISWAP has recently emerged as the dominant force in the more than decade-long Islamist insurgency in the country\u2019s northeast.
The video, provided to AFP by a source close to Boko Haram and confirmed to be Bakura Modu by another local source, illustrates that jihadist infighting is far from over in Africa\u2019s most populous nation.
Shekau, who gained notoriety after kidnapping nearly 300 schoolgirls in 2014, killed himself last month rather than surrender after IS-allied rivals attacked his base camp in Nigeria\u2019s northeast Borno state, security sources said.
In an audio, ISWAP commander Abu Musab Al-Barnawi had already claimed Shekau killed himself while on the run from ISWAP fighters.
The undated Boko Haram video shows Bakura flanked by scores of armed fighters in formation as he addresses the camera, in what is traditionally a jihadist group\u2019s way of presenting a new leader.
Commanders of Jama\u2019atu Ahlu Sunna Lidda\u2019awati Wal Jihad. Be steadfast and draw your swords, spreading your jihad, decapitating the enemy,\u201d he said, using the official name of Shekau\u2019s Boko Haram faction also known as JAS.
\u201cDon\u2019t allow what befalls you these days to weaken your resolve on the jihad your are waging, because Allah has not forsaken your efforts.\u201d
He also urges Boko Haram commanders to reject ISWAP commander Barnawi.
Soon after the initial reports of Shekau\u2019s death last month, infighting between Nigeria\u2019s two rival jihadist factions intensified. ISWAP fighters moved against Boko Haram commanders who refused to surrender and join their ranks, intelligence sources have said.
The two factions have skirmished in the past since ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016, objecting to Shekau\u2019s indiscriminate targeting of Muslim civilians and use of women suicide bombers.
Bakura\u2019s faction is one of the Boko Haram elements operating in the Lake Chad area where they have access to porous borders with Chad and Niger.
\u25aa\ufe0e Report by AFP
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