There have been growing rumors of a split within the Boko Haram militant group. American General Thomas Waldhauser says the split is due to the failure of the group to stick to ISIL doctrines.
“Several months ago, about half of Boko Haram broke off to a separate group because they were not happy with the amount of buy-in, if you will, from Boko Haram into the ISIL brand,” Waldhauser said at his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Shekau, he said, had not fallen into line with Islamic State’s instructions, including ignoring calls for Boko Haram to stop using children as suicide bombers.
“He’s been told by ISIL to stop doing that. But he has not done so. And that’s one of the reasons why this splinter group has broken off,” he said, adding Islamic State was trying to “reconcile those two groups.”
According to Reuters, U.S. officials had seen no evidence that Boko Haram has so far received significant operational support or financing from Islamic State. The assessment suggested Boko Haram’s loyalty pledge had so far mostly been a branding exercise.
Boko Haram considers itself ISIL’s West African affiliate.
