West African Islamic State jihadist group (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, released a video on Friday showing the execution of 11 Christians in Nigeria.
According to the Nigerian media, the one-minute video was shared by the group’s agency, Amaq, through the Telegram messaging platform and shows 11 blindfolded men being shot down and stabbed by ISWAP members.
“This is a message for Christians around the world,” said a masked man in the video.
The joint execution was reportedly in response to the death in October of then-Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his spokesman.
Baghdadi is said to have committed suicide to avoid being captured by US forces during a raid on his hideout in Idlib province in northwestern Syria.
In recent months, ISWAP – a faction of the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram and affiliate of the so-called Islamic State – has intensified its attacks on Christians, even blocking roads and searching.
Through his spokesman, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he was “deeply saddened and shocked by the death of innocent hostages” at the hands of “unscrupulous, godless and heartless murderous groups”, adding that these “are giving a bad name to Islam “.
Buhari stressed that his priority remains the collective security of all citizens of Nigeria, calling for these executions not to divide the West African country’s population.
On Tuesday, the United Nations condemned the “increasing practice by armed groups of establishing checkpoints directed at civilians” in northeastern Nigeria.
The violence led more than 250,000 people to flee their homes and caused a flow of 60,000 Nigerian refugees.
The Boko Haram group was created in 2002 in northeastern Nigeria by Mohameh Yusuf.
Initially, its attacks were directed at the Nigerian police, but since the death of Yusuf in 2009, the group has taken a more radical approach.
Since then, Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and its offenses have caused approximately two million displaced people, according to the United Nations.
– .
