Baga Massacre (2015)
The Baga Massacre, which occurred from January 3 to January 6, 2015, was a devastating series of attacks led by the extremist group Boko Haram in the town of Baga, located in northeastern Nigeria's Borno State. During this violent episode, Boko Haram militants overran the town and took control of a military base, resulting in significant casualties among both civilians and soldiers. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, ranging from 100 to as many as 2,000 individuals. The attacks also caused widespread destruction, displacing over 30,000 residents and triggering a humanitarian crisis as many fled to neighboring countries.
In the aftermath, a coalition of countries, including Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, initiated military operations against Boko Haram in an effort to regain control and address the ongoing violence. The attacks were part of a broader insurgency that has plagued the region since 2009, characterized by Boko Haram's aim to establish an independent Muslim state. The massacre highlighted the group's continued capacity for coordinated and brutal assaults, despite previous efforts to curb their influence. As of late 2015, the situation remained volatile, with sporadic violence continuing and the humanitarian impact still deeply felt across the affected regions.
Subject Terms
Baga Massacre (2015)
The Baga massacre was a series of attacks in the town of Baga in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, committed by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram in January 2015. The attacks resulted in the takeover of a military base used in antiterrorist operations, with estimates of the total number killed ranging from 100 to 2,000 or more.
Date: Boko Haram militants took over the small city of Baga in northeastern Nigeria between January 3 and January 6, 2015, killing an unknown number of civilians and soldiers during three days of armed attacks.
Place: Baga, Nigeria
Key Events
- January 3-5, 2015-Boko Haram militants take over the town of Baga and the local military base, killing between 100 and 2000 civilians and soldiers and destroying thousands of homes and businesses.
- January 6, 2015-Boko Haram in control of Baga and more than 70 percent of northeastern Borno state.
- January 9, 2015-Nigerian government reports that more than 30,000 individuals may have fled the region surrounding Baga after the attacks. Refugee crisis results from the large number of displaced individuals.
- February 4, 2015-Coalition from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger begins a new wave of military operations aimed at attacking Boko Haram camps.
Status
As of October 2015, the Boko Haram insurgency was ongoing while the governments of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger were attempting to cope with the refugee and humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon. On October 14, 2015, President Barack Obama authorized the US military to dispatch three hundred US troops along with Predator drones and other equipment to help Cameroonian soldiers address the situation. Cameroon and Nigeria have formed a new coalition with soldiers from Niger, Chad, and Benin. US involvement came after Boko Haram videos were released indicating that the group had aligned itself with the Middle Eastern terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
In-Depth Overview
Boko Haram is a radical Islamist group from Nigeria founded in 2002, and whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language. The group preaches violent action against educational institutions teaching Christian and secular ideologies and aims to establish an independent Muslim state in Nigeria. Since 2009, the group's leader has been Abubakar Shekau.
Boko Haram was linked to hundreds of civilian attacks between 2010 and 2015. The organization reportedly captures and conscripts young men and has kidnapped hundreds of young women and girls, some of whom have been raped, abused, and forced to marry Boko Haram soldiers. In May 2013, the Nigerian government formed a Joint Task Force (JTF) with Niger and Chad. JTF operations successfully forced Boko Haram from the cities, but the organization continued targeting civilians.
Just before dawn on January 3, 2015, a small group of Boko Haram militants attacked the town of Baga in northeastern Nigeria. Local residents, wielding guns, knives, and machetes, were able to drive the insurgents away, but the defeated militants returned several hours later, reportedly with hundreds of armed fighters, some driving trucks and motorcycles. Over the course of the day, Boko Haram soldiers ran down or shot citizens attempting to resist or to flee the town and then began destroying and burning property.
During the attack, Boko Haram captured a nearby military base used by JTF forces. Witnesses reported that soldiers attempted to fight off the insurgents but were outnumbered and driven from the base. Thousands of refugees fled to nearby Lake Chad, where they took boats to several of the islands located in the lake. At least 5,000 former Baga residents fled through the forest to the Borno state capital Maidiguri. At least 15,000 fled by foot or vehicle into Chad, and an unknown number traveled across the border into Niger. Most of the violence had reportedly ended by January 6. While some sources claimed that as many as 2,000 soldiers and civilians were killed, Nigerian government reports indicated that the number was closer to 100 or 150. At the end of the attack, Boko Haram had control over approximately 70 percent of the Borno state.
Shortly after the attack, the Nigerian government formed a new coalition with Chad, Niger, and Cameroon and began conducting an aggressive series of campaigns against Boko Haram-controlled territories. The coalition claimed to have defeated Boko Haram in September 2015, but isolated attacks continued around Nigeria and Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings in Cameroon. While the coalition also claimed to have killed leader Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram released a video in which an individual claiming to be Shekau refuted claims of his death and claimed allegiance to the Syrian militant group ISIS.
Key Figures
Abubakar Shekau: Second leader of Boko Haram allegedly still in charge of the organization in October 2015, though some reports indicate that the individual pledging to be Shekau may not be the original Shekau.
Bibliography
Cooper, H. (2015, October 14). To aid Boko Haram fight, Obama orders 300 troops to Cameroon. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/world/africa/obama-orders-300-troops-to-cameroon-to-support-fight-against-boko-haram.html
Fessy, T. (2015, February 2). Boko Haram attack: What happened in Baga? BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30987043
Hare, J. (2015, March 14). How northern Nigeria's violent history explains Boko Haram. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150314-boko-haram-nigeria-borno-rabih-abubakar-shekau/
Mark, M. (2015, January 10). Boko Haram's "deadliest massacre": 2,000 feared dead in Nigeria. Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/09/boko-haram-deadliest-massacre-baga-nigeria
Oladipo, T. (2015, April 24). Analysis: Islamic State strengthens ties with Boko Haram. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32435614