Boko Haram insurgency
Part of religious violence in Nigeria,
military intervention against ISIL,
and the War on terror
Militaires nigériens Diffa Mars 2015.jpg
Milice d'autodéfense Nigeria 2015.JPG

Niger Army soldiers during an operation against Boko Haram in March 2015(top)
Nigerian CJTF militiamen in 2015(bottom)
Date26 July 2009 – present
(12 years, 11 months and 4 days)
Location
Northern Nigeria
Northern Cameroon (from 2012)
Southeast Niger (from 2014)
Western Chad (from 2014)
Status

Ongoing (Map of the current military situation)

  • Expansion of conflict into neighboring Cameroon, Chad, Mali, and Niger
  • Coalition offensive in 2015 forces Boko Haram to retreat into the Sambisa Forest
  • Abubakar Shekau killed on 19 May 2021 amid ISWAP's capture of Sambisa Forest
Belligerents

Multinational Joint Task Force

  •  Nigeria
  •  Cameroon
  •  Chad
  •  Niger
  •  Benin

Local militias and vigilantes

  • CJTF, BOYES(Nigeria)
  • Comités de vigilance(Chad, Cameroon)
  • Dan banga(Niger)

Foreign mercenaries

  • STTEP
Supported by:
  • African Union
  •  Belgium
  •  Benin
  •  Canada
  •  China
  •  Pakistan
  •  Colombia
  •  Egypt
  •  France
  •  Israel
  •  Italy
  •  Russia
  •  Spain
  •  United Kingdom
  •  United States
  •  Belarus

Boko Haram(partially aligned with ISIL from 2015)

  • Shekau faction
  • Several minor factions

Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantISWAP(originally Barnawi faction of Boko Haram; from 2016)
Ansaru
Supported by:
al-Qaeda

  • AQIM
  • Al-Shabaab
Taliban
 ISIL(from 2015)
Commanders and leaders

NigeriaMuhammadu Buhari
NigeriaGoodluck Jonathan
NigeriaUmaru Yar'Adua
NigeriaIbrahim Gaidam)
NigeriaKashim Shettima
NigeriaAli Modu Sheriff
NigeriaIsa Yuguda
NigeriaBrig. General Dzarma Zirkusu 
CameroonPaul Biya
ChadMahamat Déby Itno
ChadIdriss Déby 
NigerMohamed Bazoum

NigerMahamadou Issoufou
Boko Haram:
Mohammed Yusuf Executed
Abubakar Shekau 
ISWAP:
Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantAbu Musab al-Barnawi 
Sani Shuwaram 
Ba Idrisa (MIA)
Bo Lawan ("Lawan Abubakar")
Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantHuozaifah Ibn Sadiq
Strength

Nigerian Army:
130,000 active frontline personnel;
32,000 active reserve personnel
Nigeria Police Force:
371,800 officers
Multinational Joint Task Force:
7,500 active personnel
(excluding Cameroon and Nigeria)
Cameroonian Armed Forces:
20,000 active personnel
300 U.S. advisers


Militias and vigilantes: Unknown, several tens of thousands
Fluctuating; thousands to tens of thousands on average
Casualties and losses
Unknown

Thousands killed, captured, or surrendered

350,000 deaths total, of which 35,000 direct

2,400,000 internally displaced