The long-running rivalry between the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, JAS, popularly known as Boko Haram, has continued to reshape the insurgency in Nigeria’s North-East, with repeated clashes over territory, leadership and resources.

The background was highlighted in a report by security analyst Zagazola Makama while explaining the latest confrontation between both factions in Borno State.

According to the report, the conflict dates back to 2016 when ISWAP broke away from the Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram movement following disagreements over ideology and leadership.

Since the split, both groups have engaged in repeated battles over territorial control, taxation routes, recruitment of fighters and strategic hideouts across the Lake Chad Basin and the Sambisa Forest.

Makama reported that the rivalry intensified in May 2021 when ISWAP launched a major offensive into the Sambisa Forest, cornering Shekau during a confrontation.

According to the report, Shekau reportedly died after detonating an explosive device rather than surrendering to ISWAP fighters.

“The latest confrontation is the latest in a series of violent clashes between ISWAP and JAS, whose long-running rivalry has continued to reshape the insurgency landscape in the North-East,” the report stated.

Following his death, ISWAP absorbed many of Shekau’s followers, but several loyal JAS commanders rejected allegiance to the group and continued operating independently from isolated enclaves around the Sambisa Forest and Mandara Mountains.

Makama further reported that intelligence gathered in recent months indicated renewed tensions between the two factions over control of food supplies, taxation of local communities, movement corridors and the allegiance of surviving fighters.

According to the report, the struggle for dominance has triggered a series of violent internal battles, with both groups suffering casualties while competing for shrinking territories under sustained military pressure.

According to Makama, the renewed clashes suggest that sustained military offensives are forcing both factions into fierce competition over shrinking territories, supplies and recruits as troops intensify operations across the North-East.

Troops of Sector 2 under Operation HADIN KAI have destroyed several suspected Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, hideouts and logistics bases during a clearance operation in Yobe State.

The development was reported by security analyst Zagazola Makama, who disclosed that the offensive is targeting suspected ISWAP fighters believed to have escaped from the Lake Chad Islands and the Timbuktu Triangle following sustained military operations in the region.

According to the report, the fleeing insurgents were attempting to establish new hideouts in communities within Gujba Local Government Area before troops launched the latest offensive against them.

Makama reported that soldiers uncovered and destroyed several camps and life-support structures allegedly used by the terrorists to shelter fighters and sustain their operations.

“The operation is aimed at flushing out pockets of ISWAP fighters who fled the Lake Chad Islands and the Timbuktu Triangle in search of refuge in inland communities around Gujba Local Government Area,” the report stated.

The ongoing operation is concentrated around Mahdiyya, Lagarawa, Lamusheri, Ngarbai and Wulle, where troops are carrying out systematic clearance patrols to eliminate any remaining terrorist presence and prevent the insurgents from regaining a foothold.

Military sources, according to Makama, said the sustained offensive forms part of the Armed Forces’ broader strategy to deny fleeing terrorists safe havens after months of intensified pressure on insurgent strongholds in the Lake Chad Basin and the Timbuktu Triangle.

The sources added that the clearance operations remain ongoing, with troops maintaining aggressive pursuit of the suspected terrorists while consolidating gains recorded across the affected communities.

A fresh confrontation has reportedly erupted between two rival Boko Haram factions in Borno State, with fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, launching an ambush on members of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, JAS, leaving several senior commanders feared dead.

The incident was reported by security analyst Zagazola Makama, who disclosed that the attack occurred around Bula Murge in Bama Local Government Area of the state.

According to the report, the ambush took place in the Gargash area near Bula Murge, about 11 kilometres north of Miyanti and 26 kilometres northeast of Bama, where ISWAP fighters reportedly launched a surprise assault on the rival faction.

The report said the ambush inflicted heavy casualties on the rival faction, with several prominent JAS commanders feared to have died during the assault.

Among those reportedly killed were Abu Ubaida, Modu Kori, Alhaji Modu, Mure, Zarkawi, Sheriff and Modu Maye, all identified as senior commanders within the JAS faction operating in the area.

According to the report, intercepted communications suggested that surviving JAS fighters had begun relocating their women and children to Bula Daloye after their camps were overrun.

“The attack forced surviving JAS fighters into disarray, with intercepted communications indicating that the group had begun plans to evacuate its women and families to Bula Daloye following the destruction of their camps,” the report stated.

The report further stated that Bula Murge and Nguro Bafuye, two settlements previously occupied by the faction, were set ablaze during the assault, destroying key shelters and logistics facilities.

Security sources, according to Makama, assessed that the latest confrontation had significantly weakened the JAS faction and created an opportunity for troops to intensify ongoing counter-insurgency operations across the area.

Military authorities have reportedly directed troops operating around Miyanti, Bama, Kumshe and neighbouring communities to sustain offensive operations aimed at preventing either faction from regrouping or re-establishing operational bases.

The report added that security commanders have been urged to maintain pressure on both insurgent factions as part of ongoing efforts to further degrade their operational capability across the southern fringes of the Sambisa Forest.