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| Only Boko Haram, Isis, and al-Shabab were deemed deadlier than the little-known militant group from West Africa. |
The fourth deadliest known terrorist group has been named as the Fulani
militant group operating in Nigeria and parts of the Central African
Republic.
The little-known group, formed of individuals from the semi-nomadic
pastoral ethnic group Fula people existing across several West African
nations, has seen a dramatic escalation of its activities in the past
year.
In 2013, the Fulani killed around 80 people in total – but by 2014 the group had killed 1,229.
Operating mainly in the middle belt of Nigeria, opposed to the north
which is dominated by Boko Haram, the group recorded 847 deaths last
year across five states, and has also been knonw to stage attacks in the
Central African Republic (CAR), according to the latest report from the
Global Terrorism Index.
Little is known about the group, despite the high toll they are
inflicting on local civilian populations, but it is supposed the
increased instability in CAR and Nigeria – despite some government
successes against militant groups – has facilitated the group’s
expansion.
As much as 92 per cent of their attacks target private citizens,
reflecting the group’s primary concern over the ownership of farmland.
Each attack claims an average of 11 lives, with the largest known in
April 2014 killing as many as 200 people after a group of the militants
targeted community leaders and residents during a meeting in central
province Zamfara.
In the past year Nigeria has experienced the greatest increase in deaths
from terrorism, with 7,512 deaths reported – an increase of over 300
per cent – most of which have been claimed by Boko Haram.
-Rose Troup Buchanan
This Article First Appeared On The UK Newspaper ‘The Independent’ On Wednesday 18 November 2015
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