Boko Haram is increasingly promoting Cameroonian fighters into leadership positions, strengthening the extremist group’s ability to expand operations and recruit locally, according to new research by the Institute for Security Studies. The shift has helped both Boko Haram factions—ISWAP and JAS—carry out hundreds of attacks in Cameroon, where violence now exceeds that recorded in other parts of the Lake Chad Basin. Local commanders use their knowledge of communities, languages, and terrain to coordinate attacks, gather intelligence, recruit fighters, and secure supplies through cross-border trade. Researchers warn that the trend could further destabilize Cameroon’s Far North unless authorities combine targeted military operations with community-based deradicalization and defection programs modeled on Nigeria’s Operation Sulhu. The report argues that weakening these local leaders would significantly disrupt Boko Haram’s decentralized command structure and reduce its long-term resilience.
ISS Africa