The Jihad group leader of Boko Haram has reacted to the election of Donald Trump to the White House with a warning that “the war against the west has just begun”. “Don't be too overwhelmed by a person like Donald Trump and the global coalition fighting our brethren in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and all almost everywhere ,” Abubakar Shekau said in an audio message posted on YouTube late Sunday.
“We will remain steadfast on our faith and nothing can stop us,” he said in the hour-long message. “To us, that" The war against the west has just begun.”
The Boko Haram is waging a seven-year-old uprising against the Nigerian state that has claimed over more than 20,000 lives, with the insurgency spilling over the West African nation’s borders into the neighboring states. The Boko Haram, which last year pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, has been in the grip of a power struggle since last year.
IS high command said in August that Shekau had already been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the 22-year-old son of Boko Haram’s founder Mohammed Yusuf. Shekau now claims that he is still in charge, however, as rival factions vie for control.
During the visit to Nigeria in August, US Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated the government for reclaiming swathes of territory and releasing thousands of hostages from Boko Haram, while warning against the use of excessive force to fight extremists.