Boko Haram changes names of captured northeast towns
Kano - Boko Haram has renamed
two towns it captured in the
northeast as part of campaign to
establish a caliphate in the
region, residents who have fled in
recent days told AFP on Thursday.
The insurgents seized the town of
Mubi in Adamawa state last week
and now insist it be called
Madinatul Islam, or "City of Islam"
in Arabic.
Gwoza in neighbouring Borno
state which was captured in July
is now being called Darul Hikma
or "House of Wisdom", multiple
residents said.
Also read: Boko Haram changes
Mubi town to 'Madinatul Islam'
Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar
Shekau, in a video released in
August declared that he had
made Gwoza part of a caliphate,
an announcement that recalled a
similar move by the Islamic State
militant group which has taken
over parts of Iraq and Syria.
The extremists are believed to
control more than two dozen
towns and villages in Nigeria's far
northeast and there are signs that
they are trying to advance south
towards Adamawa's capital Yola.
"They have given new names to
Gwoza and Mubi, which they say
are now part of their Islamic
state," said Ahmad Maishanu, who
fled Mubi with his mother on
Wednesday to Yola.
Tijjani Kalifa, who left Mubi on
Monday and has contacts in
Gwoza, also reported that Boko
Haram was forcing people in both
towns to use the new names.
Both witnesses said all the
churches in Mubi had been burnt
down and that the insurgents
were patrolling the streets
regularly, with no sign of
resistance from the security
services.h
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