Nigeria: Explosions rock north-eastern city

Nigeria’s fragile security situation has seemingly deteriorated further amid reports of four near-simultaneous explosions in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, according to RFI and agencies on March 17th.

The explosions occurred on the evening of March 16th, less than an hour after Muslims broke their Ramadan fast; police reports indicate 23 deaths and over 100 injuries.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno State, where groups like Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are particularly active.

Both groups are affiliated with the Islamic State and seek to establish an Islamic Caliphate in Africa, which would be governed by Sharia Law.

Rising jihadist violence has forced thousands to flee from Borno State to neighbouring Cameroon, which has also experienced a growing Islamist threat.

So far, no Islamist organisation has claimed responsibility for the explosions; three sites within Maiduguri were seemingly targeted: the main Post Office, the Monday Market and the Maiduguri University Hospital.

This suspected attack came within days of military bases being targeted by Islamist militants in Borno and Yobe States, along with the broader Lake Chad region; at least two police officers and several soldiers were killed.

Although Boko Haram and ISWAP are the primary Nigeria-based Islamist militants, the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) maintains a presence, while Lakurawa primarily operates in the northwest.

JNIM originated in the Sahel and has expanded its operations throughout West Africa, particularly in the border region between Nigeria, Niger and Benin.

To counter rising extremism, Benin and Nigeria announced plans to develop a cross-border security cooperation pact on February 27th.

It was reported on March 4th that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc that includes Nigeria and Benin, sought to form a regional counterterrorism force to address rising Islamist violence.

Although much of the violence is concentrated in the Sahel, the junta-led states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have rejected the Western-aligned ECOWAS in favour of forming their own cooperation pact, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Despite the AES rejecting Western ties, an ECOWAS chief of staff stated that the AES would be encouraged to cooperate with the regional counterterrorism force, which would deploy 2,000 troops to address “terrorism and insecurity” across West Africa.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org