Boko Haram's Shekau proclaims 'Islamic caliphate' in Gwoza----new video
Boko Haram's leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate
in a northeast Nigeria
town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on
Sunday.
"Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in
(the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate," Abubakar
Shekau said in the 52-minute video.
He declared that Gwoza, in Borno State, now has
"nothing to do with
"By the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We
have come to stay," said Shekau, who has been designated a global
terrorist by the United
States and sanctioned by the UN Security
Council.
The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) earlier this
month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under rebel control.
Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas
near Gwoza in southern Borno, as well as large swathes of territory in northern
Borno and at least one town in neighbouring Yobe state.
Mapping the precise areas which have fallen into Islamist
hands is nearly impossible.
There are few humanitarian workers on the ground in the
northeast, travel is dangerous and the region, which has been under a state of
emergency since May of last year, has poor mobile phone coverage.
Experts have described Boko Haram's gains in recent weeks as
unprecedented, saying the group was closer than ever to achieving its goal of
carving out a strict Islamic state across northern Nigeria .
But many analysts believe the military has the capacity to
reverse the insurgents' advance.
Soldiers this week refused to deploy to Gwoza without better
weapons in an apparent mutiny.
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