Source: Reuters
BY Paul Carsten, Ahmed Kingimi
ABUJA/MAIDUGURI (Reuters) – From the shores of Lake Chad, Islamic State’s West African ally is on a mission: winning over the local people.
FILE PHOTO: Men on camels cross the water as a woman washes clothes in Lake Chad in Ngouboua, January 19, 2015. REUTERS/Emmanuel Braun/File Photo
Digging wells, giving out seeds and fertilizer and providing safe pasture for herders are among the inducements offered by Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), which split from Nigeria’s Boko Haram in 2016.
“If you are a herder, driver or trader, they won’t touch you – just follow their rules and regulations governing the territory,” said a herder, who moves cattle in and out of ISWA territory and whose identity Reuters is withholding for his safety. “They don’t touch civilians, just security personnel.”
Categories: Africa, Boko Haram, Niger, The Muslim Times