In the vast expanse of the Lake Chad shores in Kukawa, near the Nigerian border with Cameroon, a conflict unfolded. Scores of lives were claimed in the clash between Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on the Islands of Kandahar and Kaduna Ruwa.
The tensions ignited on a fateful Monday afternoon, January 15, 2024, when the ISWAP faction, under the command of Ali Kwaya and Abou Hassaini from Kirta in Ngala LGA, launched a daring assault on the camp of Abou Hurayra, a prominent leader of the Boko Haram Buduma Faction.
The ISWAP fighters, arriving on seven canoes with determined warriors, engaged in a fierce battle that persisted for an intense hour. The clash, marked by the echo of gunfire and the desperate struggle for dominance, unfolded on the shores where the borders of life and death seemed blurred.
Sources revealed the extent of the ISWAP faction’s losses, with only two out of the seven canoes returning to Kirta. The waters of Lake Chad bore witness to the high toll exacted during this brutal confrontation.
This latest episode adds another chapter to the ongoing saga of deadly clashes between these two terrorist groups.
The conflict has cast a grim shadow over the region, claiming the lives of numerous fighters from both sides and leaving scars on the landscape that bear witness to the persistent and tragic struggle for supremacy.