Magumeri ambush
| Magumeri ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Boko Haram insurgency | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 NigeriaCivilian Joint Task Force |
 ISWAP | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
52 killed
| Unknown | ||||||
| 17 civilians killed, 4 POWs | |||||||
On July 25, 2017, Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants ambushed a convoy of Nigerian soldiers and scientists from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company near the town of Magumeri, Borno State, leaving 52 soldiers and 17 civilians dead.
Background
[edit]Boko Haram emerged in 2009 as a jihadist social and political movement in a failed rebellion in northeast Nigeria.[1] Throughout the following years, Abubakar Shekau unified militant Islamist groups in the region and continued to foment the rebellion against the Nigerian government, conducting terrorist attacks and bombings in cities and communities across the region.[2] On March 7, 2015, the group publicly declared allegiance to the Islamic State and became known as the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP).[3]
There had been relatively few ISWAP attacks in Nigeria in 2017, and the group had been severely weakened compared to a few years prior.[4]
Ambush
[edit]On July 25, a group of NNPC scientists and geologists from the University of Maiduguri returning from oil exploration on Lake Chad in a convoy of ten vehicles were ambushed by ISWAP fighters outside of the village of Magumeri.[5][6] The following day, the Nigerian Army announced a rescue operation that claimed to have found and rescued some geologists, but also discovered the bodies of the ambush victims.[7] Initially, the Nigerian government announced nine soldiers and one civilian were killed.[6] Three days later on July 28, medical and humanitarian sources said that at least 50 people were killed among soldiers and civilians.[6] On July 29, a humanitarian worker who worked in recovering the bodies said that 69 people were killed in the ambush; 19 soldiers, 33 Civilian Joint Task Force militiamen, and 17 civilians.[8] One victim was found in Geidam, having walked until he collapsed of his injuries.[6]
Aftermath
[edit]A few days after the ambush, ISWAP released a video of three men from the University of Maiduguri calling on the Nigerian government to meet ISWAP's ransom for their release. The victims said that they were held by the ISWAP faction of Abu Musab al-Barnawi.[6] A spokesman for the university said that two academics and a driver were killed, and one other was still missing.[7]
References
[edit]- ↑ Walker, Andrew (2016-02-04). "Join us or die: the birth of Boko Haram". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "Nigeria unrest: 'Boko Haram' gunmen kill 44 at mosque". BBC News. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ Porter, Geoff (2015-03-19). "A Biography of Boko Haram and the Bay'a to al-Baghdadi". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ↑ "Watchmen of Lake Chad: Vigilante Groups Fighting Boko Haram | International Crisis Group". www.crisisgroup.org. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Attaque de Boko Haram au Nigeria: le bilan grimpe lourdement". RFI (in French). 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Wikiwix Archives". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 Reuters (2017-07-28). "Nigeria: Au moins 30 morts dans une tentative de libération d'otages". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2026-09-28.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Nigeria: la dernière attaque de Boko Haram prouve qu'il est «loin d'être vaincu»". RFI (in French). 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2026-09-28.