The Christian Science Monitor quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on how Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance to ISIS could be used as a recruiting tool:

J. Peter Pham, director of the Washington-based Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, told The Associated Press that the partnership could be used as a recruiting tool. He said fighters from ISIS franchises in North Africa who find it harder to migrate to the Middle East may choose to join the fight in Nigeria instead. But geographical challenges make ISIS support in training and manpower a difficult task.

By pledging allegiance to ISIS, Boko Haram is following in the footsteps of jihadist groups in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. It also means it has severed ties to Al Qaeda, which it fought alongside two years ago during the Islamist militant uprising in northern Mali.

Read the full article here.

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