Fall of Gwoza 2014
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
About the battle
On 6 August 2014, militants from Boko Haram stormed the town of Gwoza, Borno State, Nigeria, seizing control of the city. The militants destroyed government buildings and churches, and massacred fleeing civilians in villages in and around Gwoza. At least 600 civilians were killed in the aftermath of the fall of the city.
The fall of Gwoza was also the first time that Boko Haram, which had pledged bay'ah to the Islamic State on 7 May, declared territory under Boko Haram control as part of the Islamic State's caliphate and de facto independence from Nigeria. The fall of the city and declaration of the caliphate foresaw the seizures of Buni Yadi, Madagali, and other cities in Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa States. Gwoza was declared the headquarters of the militant group until the recapture of the city by Nigerian soldiers in March 2015.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Fall of Gwoza (revision 1373046834), 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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