Monguno and Nganzai massacres

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Monguno and Nganzai massacres
Part of Boko Haram insurgency
LocationGoni Usmanti, Mainmari, Mariram, Nganzai LGA, and Monguno, Borno State, Nigeria
DateJune 13, 2020
TargetFour locations in Monguno and Goni Usmanti[1]
Deaths98+
  • 42 civilians in Nganzai
  • 20 Nigerian soldiers in Monguno
  • 16+ civilians in Monguno
  • 20 ISWAP fighters
InjuredUnknown
Perpetrator ISWAP

On June 13, 2020, the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched five coordinated attacks on different locations across Borno State, Nigeria. Four of the attacks took place in Monguno and one took place in the village of Goni Usmanti in Nganzai LGA, and over sixty people were killed in the attacks.

Background[edit]

A few days before the attacks in Monguno and Nganzai, eighty-one people were killed in a massacre in Gubio by ISWAP on June 9.[2] The attack was one of the deadliest attacks in recent years by Boko Haram, and was perpetrated by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who had recently split off from Boko Haram to form the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP).[2]

Massacres[edit]

The first attack began in Goni Usmanti, Nganzai LGA, with ISWAP fighters shooting at residents as they entered the city.[3] In the village, the fighters clashed with a local vigilante group, but the locals were quickly overrun by the jihadists. They then opened fire on a large truck transporting traders, setting the truck ablaze with many of the people inside. Only two people survived by jumping off the truck.[3] The jihadists fled Goni Usmanti when they sighted a convoy of Nigerian troops from Gubio, and attacked the village of Mainmari while retreating.[4] They also burned the village of Mariram.[4] Twenty-nine civilians were killed in Goni Usmanti, and thirteen more were killed in Mainmari.[4]

Around 11:50am, the same group of ISWAP fighters entered Monguno through the Charly 1 and Charly 6 entryways, firing rockets and bullets at the guards.[4] Two Nigerian military checkpoints were attacked in the city around 12:30pm, leading to a shootout between Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) soldiers and the jihadists in the city. The crossfire between the two sides injured and killed a number of civilians.[4][5] The MNJTF soldiers were overpowered, and ISWAP fighters roamed Monguno for a few hours.[5] The jihadists reached the center of Monguno around 3:13pm, and burned a United Nations humanitarian facility in Monguno, distributing pamphlets to civilians that warned them not to work with Western NGOs.[6][7] Fifty UN workers were in the facility during the attack, but were unharmed.[6] The ISWAP fighters then burned down a police station.[8]

Aftermath[edit]

The Nigerian military released a statement claiming to have successfully repelled the Monguno attack and killed twenty jihadists. There was no mention of the attacks in Nganzai LGA.[6] In Monguno, twenty Nigerian soldiers were killed and at least fifteen civilians were killed.[6][5] Injured civilians overwhelmed the hospital in Nganzai, with some forced to lay outside the hospital.[9][6] Sixteen of the wounded civilians in Monguno were transferred to the hospital in Maiduguri on June 16, although one passed away on the way.[10]

The United Nations expressed their condolences to the victims of the attacks.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202006130010".
  2. ^ a b "Fighters kill dozens, raze village in Nigeria's Borno state". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  3. ^ a b "String of apparent jihadist attacks kills dozens in northeast Nigeria". France 24. 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e "BOKO HARAM/ISWAP - AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF RECENT CIVILIAN SOFT TARGET ATTACKS". EONS Intelligence. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  5. ^ a b c "20 soldiers, 40 civilians killed in attacks Nigeria's Borno state". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: UN 'appalled' by twin jihadist attacks in Borno". 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  7. ^ "BLACK SATURDAY: Boko Haram, ISWAP attacks leave 60 dead in Borno". Vanguard News. June 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "Militants Kill 20 Soldiers, 40 Civilians in Northeast Nigeria Attacks". Voice of America. 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  9. ^ "Islamic militants kill at least 60 people in north-east Nigeria". The Guardian. Reuters. 2020-06-14. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  10. ^ "Operational update on Monguno attack: 16 civilians evacuated to Maiduguri for surgical care". International Committee of the Red Cross. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  11. ^ "Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General - on attacks in Borno State, Northern Nigeria | United Nations Secretary-General". www.un.org. Retrieved 2024-03-07.