[Mhiz Rebecca]

New reports have emerged on in-fighting between rival factions of the
Boko Haram militant group, as the jihadists feel the pressure of a
concerted Nigerian military push and the number of desertions
continues to rise.
The apparent split in the group began last month when an Isis media
wing announced Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new leader of Boko
Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Middle East insurgency in
March last year.
But the previous leader, Abubakar Shekau, insists he is still in charge,
and the AFP news agency quoted local sources saying deadly
skirmishes have now broken out between supporters of either man.
Nigeria’s military has declined to comment on the development, but at
least half a dozen Shekau supporters are reported to have been killed
and more wounded in clashes across three villages in the Monguno
area of Borno state.
Mele Kaka, who lives in the area, told AFP the Barnawi faction had
launched the attacks in each case, on areas controlled by Shekau
supporters.
After each attack, he said, the Barnawi fighters told villagers the other
faction had “derailed from the true jihad” by killing innocent people
and looting their property.
The Isis-supporting faction has previously rejected Shekau’s preferred
strategy of suicide bombings in crowded areas. In comments shortly
after he was named the new leader, Barnawi criticised his
predecessor for “targeting the ordinary people”. The Bloomberg news agency also carried reports of the skirmishes,
which appear to have occurred late last week. News can take time to
travel in Nigeria’s war-ravaged northeastern region, where up to 2.5
million people have been displaced from their homes and most basic
infrastructure like telecommunications lines have been destroyed.
Ali Mohammed, a member of an army-supporting vigilante group
based in Monguno, told Bloomberg around 18 Boko Haram fighters
were understood to have surrendered to the army, along with their
families, following the in-fighting.
“They are under custody of Monguno command and we believe the
dual battle between Barnawi's and Shekau’s camps may have
compelled them to sneak out and surrender,” he said.
Despite all its recent setbacks, Boko Haram continues to pose a
serious threat to the region.
Yesterday a Reuters reporter who rode along with the Nigerian army
reported soldiers firing indiscriminately into the bush throughout the
journey, because of a constant fear of ambush.
The army has reclaimed a number of key towns in Borno state since
former military leader Muhammadu Buhari became president last year
and the military moved its base of operations to the northeast city of
Maiduguri.