Battle of Sambisa Forest (2021) 2021
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 14 May 2021 – 19 May 2021 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2021 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Nigeria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| Participants | Boko Haram, Islamic State, Islamic State – West Africa Province | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 11.2500, 13.4167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
In May 2021, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched an invasion of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, Nigeria, which was serving as the main base of Boko Haram, a rival jihadist rebel group. Following heavy fighting, ISWAP overran the Boko Haram troops, cornering their leader Abubakar Shekau. The two sides entered negotiations about Boko Haram's surrender during which Shekau committed suicide, possibly detonating himself with a suicide vest. Shekau's death was regarded as a major event by outside observers, as he had been one of the main driving forces in the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria and neighboring countries since 2009.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sambisa Forest (2021) (revision 1370273507), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Browse more: battles in Nigeria · Africa · Post-1945 battles