Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed in a new video released on
Monday that the group would defeat a regional force
fighting the
extremists in Nigeria’s far northeast, Niger and Cameroon.
“Your
alliance will not achieve anything. Amass all your weapons and face us.
We welcome you,” he said in a 28-minute speech, one of three videos
posted by the Islamists on YouTube.
Troops from Nigeria have been backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon
and Niger in recent weeks because of increased concerns about Boko
Haram’s threat to regional security.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau delivers a 28-minute speech in a video posted online on February 9, 2015
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Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau delivers a 28-minute speech in a video posted online on February 9, 2015
In
the second of the latest videos, images of the leader of the Islamic
State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are shown along with archive footage
and a voiceover recalling a battle between British colonial soldiers and
fighters from the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.
Shekau
has namechecked al-Baghdadi before but appears to be positioning Boko
Haram in a wider jihadi context by showing the Sokoto Caliphate, which
was dismantled by the British in the early 20th century.
“We never rose up to fight Africa. We rose up to fight the world,” he said.
“We
are going to fight the world on the principle that whoever doesn’t obey
Allah and the Prophet to either obey or die or become a slave.”
On
Sunday, Boko Haram militants waged twin attacks in the town of Diffa in
southeast Niger, opening a new front in its offensive after repeated
attacks in Cameroon’s far northern region.
The six-year uprising
has become a regional crisis and on Saturday, Nigeria, Chad, Niger,
Cameroon and Benin agreed to muster 8,700 troops, police and civilians
to fight the group.
But Shekau dismissed the size of the force, which had previously been set at about 7,500.
“You
send 7,000 troops? Why don’t you send 70 million? This is small. Only
7,000? By Allah, it is small. We can seize them one-by-one. We can seize
them one-by-one,” he said in Arabic.
Shekau also directly
threatened Chad’s President Idriss Deby, whose forces have attacked Boko
Haram in the northeast Nigerian towns of Gamboru and Malam Fatori in
recent days.
Shekau’s challenge comes after the United States said
on Friday that Boko Haram could face a stronger test against more
capable regional forces.
Washington estimates that Boko Haram has a
core of between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters but is well-equipped after
raiding Nigerian Army positions.
Source:PM News

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