BOKO HARAM Group’s new leader threatens to kill Christians

Associated Press

LAGOS, NIGERIA

Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamic extremists have a new leader who is threatening to bomb churches and kill Christians while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims, according to an interview published Wednesday by the Islamic State group.

He also says there is a Western plot to Christianize the region and has accused charities of using their aid for that, according to a SITE Intelligence Group translation of an interview published Wednesday in the Islamic State newspaper al-Nabaa.

The newspaper identified Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new “Wali,” or governor, of its so-called West Africa Province. The “Wali” title previously was used to describe longtime Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

The report did not say what Shekau’s current status was, although there have been rumors for weeks that he had been replaced.

The interview with al-Barnawi indicates a major shift in strategy for the Nigerian extremists, who have killed many more Muslims than Christians in attacks in mosques with suicide bombers and gunmen.

Wednesday’s announcement indicates a coup by Boko Haram breakaway group Ansaru against Shekau, and follows a trend of extremist Islamic groups moving away from al-Qaida to the Islamic State, analyst Jacob Zenn said.