Jihadists argue over leadership of Islamic State’s West Africa province

[Valin]

Long War Journal:

Thomas Joscelyn

August 4, 2016

 

A dispute over the leadership of the Islamic State’s West Africa “province” has broken out into the public.

 

The controversy was revealed after the Islamic State’s An Naba magazine identified Abu Musab al Barnawi as the group’s wali, or governor, on Aug. 2.

 

That position had been held by Abu Bakr Shekau, the longtime leader of the group known as “Boko Haram.” In Mar. 2015, Shekau swore his allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Boko Haram was quickly rebranded as Islamic State West Africa (ISWA), with Shekau as its governor. [see LWJ reports: Boko Haram leader pledges allegiance to the Islamic State and Islamic State spokesman publicly accepts Boko Haram’s allegiance.]

 

An Naba’s announcement of Barnawi’s promotion drew a swift response from Shekau. An audio message attributed to Shekau was disseminated online just one day later, on Aug. 3.

 

The SITE Intelligence Group has translated both An Naba’s interview with Barnawi and the response from Shekau.

 

(Snip)

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Gosh, I hope this doesn't lead to some kind of violence between they two factions.