Abubakar Shekau, who was replaced by Islamic State as Boko Haram\u2019s leader
\nhas spoken out about the news, claiming that he was betrayed and
\ndenouncing his purported new leader as an infidel.<\/p>\n
He said this in an audio message, his first in over one year, after IS on
\nTuesday published an interview with Sheikh Abu Musab al-Barnawi in its
\nAl-Naba online weekly magazine in which he was introduced as Boko Haram\u2019s
\nnew leader.<\/p>\n
In the interview, Barnawi talks about the history of jihad in this region
\nbut makes no clear reference to Shekau.<\/p>\n
Since March 2015, Barnawi has appeared in several videos distributed by
\nBoko Haram, claiming responsibility for successive attacks, earning him
\nthe reputation of group spokesman, experts say.
\nBut in his message, Shekau takes aim at Barnawi, dismissing him as an
\ninfidel who condones living in an un-Islamic society without waging jihad.<\/p>\n
And in a tacit acknowledgement that his own position as leader may have
\nbeen usurped, he speaks of being tricked by some of his followers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey deceived me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now I find myself being forced to follow another character who
\npractices disbelief,\u201d he says, in a message which becomes increasingly
\nmore animated as he speaks.<\/p>\n
Berlin-based jihadist expert Yan St-Pierre of the Modern Security
\nConsulting Group, who confirmed the voice in the audio recording as
\nShekau\u2019s voice, said his message had laid bare divisions within the group.<\/p>\n
St-Pierre said the message suggested Shekau was trying to retain his base
\nof support within Boko Haram without compromising the commitment to IS.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the message, Shekau refers to Boko Haram under its previous name, but
\nwith some ISIS propaganda elements, as if he wanted to reassure its old
\ncombattants and base, without denying his commitment to (its leader Abu
\nBakr) al-Bagdadi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speculation over the fate \u2014 and alleged disappearance \u2014 of Shekau has been
\nrife in recent months: he was last seen in a YouTube video in March,
\nlooking weak, and saying: \u201cFor me, the end has come.\u201d<\/p>\n
He became Boko Haram leader after Nigerian security forces killed the
\ngroup\u2019s founding chief Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, sparking an insurgency that
\nhas left 20,000 people dead and forced 2.6 million people to flee their
\nhomes.<\/p>\n
But the group has become fractured under his leadership, experts told AFP
\nafter the Barnawi interview was released.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoko Haram has lost its prestige and become difficult to control (under
\nShekau). Today, Boko Haram is divided into several little groups,\u201d
\nSt-Pierre said.<\/p>\n
And a Nigerian security analyst said he believed Shekau was still alive,
\nbut that IS may be seeking to clean up Boko Haram\u2019s reputation among
\njihadists, by ousting a leader seen as disorganised and unreliable.<\/p>\n
Boko Haram has been pegged back by an aggressive fightback from the
\nNigerian military since January 2014, losing territory and its capacity to
\nmount conventional attacks.<\/p>\n
AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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