Boko Haram jihadists attacked two fishing islands in Lake Chad in a coordinated operation. The attackers first struck Duguri island, killing 12 fishermen and wounding two others who later died (bringing the Duguri toll to 14). The attackers then split into two groups; while the first group attacked Duguri, the second went to nearby Dabar Wanzam island, where they lay in wait for fishermen who fled the first attack, killing 17 there. The attackers spared one fisherman in Duguri, loading the 12 bodies of those killed into a canoe and ordering him to take them to Baga as a warning. They also instructed the spared man to "inform the troops in Baga that they were waiting for them on the islands."

Perpetrators

Boko Haram

Response

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima confirmed the attack during a public event in Maiduguri on Tuesday, 8 August 2017. He stated: "Somebody called me this morning and informed me that the insurgents had killed 31 fishermen in the Lake Chad Basin. This shows the level of crisis we faced in Borno, as the so-called Jihadists continued with their inhuman acts in the Lake Chad Basin" .

Displacement

0

Socioeconomic drivers

The attackers demonstrated sophisticated planning by splitting into two groups—one to attack Duguri, the other to wait at Dabar Wanzam for fleeing survivors. This double-tap tactic was designed to maximize casualties and terror

Trajectory

Issuing a direct come and get us challenge to the troops in Baga to lure them into a water-based ambush.

Cycle notes

Mirrored earlier attacks by Boko Haram including the 16 February 2017 multi-phase Maiduguri attack combining initial strikes with follow-on engagements, the 11 July 2017 attack on mourners as a secondary strike pattern, the 20 June 2017 ambush on the Maiduguri–Damboa highway targeting vulnerable segments after movement disruption, repeated 2013–2015 village raids involving the pursuit of fleeing civilians (such as Gumsuri and surrounding Borno communities), the 19 November 2017 Dimge farmers’ execution involving capture and the use of a survivor as a messenger, and the 2014 Chibok/Damboa axis raids where spared survivors were used to spread terror, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern of “double-tap” or sequential targeting in which Boko Haram conducts an initial attack to displace victims and then strikes anticipated escape routes or gathering points to maximize casualties, while also employing psychological warfare through deliberate messaging to reinforce territorial dominance and deter economic activity, particularly in the Lake Chad Basin.

Pattern

Fishermen Massacre

Source

• https://punchng.com/boko-haram-kills-31-fishermen/