February 23, 2015

AFP: Boko Haram – changing media strategy for a wider conflict?

February 20, 2015

AFP

 

Phil Hazelwood from the global press agency AFP (L’Agence France-Presse) asked Yan St-Pierre whether Boko Haram’s copying of ISIS’ video style is a hint of cooperation between the two Islamist groups:

“The core leadership of Boko Haram and ISIS don’t really have contact but a lot of their affiliates do for business purposes,” said Yan St-Pierre, from the Modern Security Consulting Group.

Boko Haram’s control of the Lake Chad area — on an established arms trafficking and smuggling route — had forced foreign militants to enter talks with them, he told AFP.

As a result, Boko Haram, an essentially home-grown rebel group with local aims at its inception, was increasingly open to international influence, he added.

To read the full article, please click on the link above.