ISIS second to Boko Haram in ranking of deadly extremist organizations
Posted November 19, 2015 7:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BOSTON (NEWS 1130) – Despite last week’s deadly attacks in Paris, ISIS is not the world’s deadliest extremist group.
That distinction now belongs to Boko Haram, which has killed even more people, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
It says deaths attributed to group increased by 317 per cent in 2014 to a total of 6,644 compared to 6,073 blamed on Islamic State.
Boko Haram killed another 49 people in suicide bombings yesterday and is responsible for more than 6,600 deaths overall.
But the Nigerian-based group could start to pose a threat to France as well, which already has some military presence in West Africa, supporting Nigerian troops.
“I believe they (France) have something like 4,000 troops in Cameroon at the moment, working as advisors and intelligence-gathering, but also trying to beef-up the capacity to try and help Cameroon and to some extend Chad beat back Boko Haram,” says University of Massachusetts Boston professor Dr. Darren Kew, one of the world’s leading academics on Boko Haram.
“I’m sure they (France) don’t see it as the same level of threat as ISIS at this point. But I’m sure it’s certainly going to seen as something of increased concern, especially with the large number of Nigerian migrants that are crossing the strait into Europe through Spain and through Italy.”
He says that increased involvement may become necessary, as France could face an influx of Nigerian refugees if Boko Haram continues to expand.
“I wonder if we see sort of a more aggressive response from France about ISIS, whether that will also lead to increasing French involvement in the Francophone countries neighbouring Nigeria and Boko Haram as well,” says Kew, who is also the executive director of the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development.
He also expects those Nigerian refugees will be viewed the same way as those trying to escape Syria.
“They (Nigerian refugees) could be painted with the same anti-terror brush, which is understandable but also very worrisome from a humanitarian perspective,” says Kew.
