Boko Haram: Doha’s destructive hand in Sudan
Qatar is seeking to
stoke the fire in Sudan by means of the Boko Haram terrorist group active in
West Africa. Doha has close relationships with the terrorist organizations in
that region, which the Qatari regime uses to pressure regional governments in
order to achieve Doha’s economic interests.
In October 2014, the Spectator published an article by Simon Heffer in which he revealed Qatari involvement in supporting Boko Haram. He referred to negotiations between the terrorist group and the Nigerian government regarding the release of hostages, explaining that Qatar played a role through one of the tribal leaders in Cameroon with great commercial relations with Qatar.
Heffer added that the Qatari role in West Africa is controversial, especially the Nigerian case in which Doha offered to provide money to Boko Haram through the Cameroonian mediator in exchange for the release of the girls kidnapped by the movement.
In September 2015, a French report stressed that French intelligence regularly classifies Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorist groups in Africa, including Boko Haram. The report confirmed that Qatar’s money and France’s interests there were the reason why the French government did not take a firm stance against the Qatari regime.
In August 2017, a statement of Chadian Foreign Minister Ibrahim Hussein Taha raised the controversy about the Qatari regime's involvement in supporting Boko Haram terrorists, as he confirmed that his country had severed its relations with Qatar due to Doha harboring elements from terrorist groups hostile to Chad, including the extremist Boko Haram group. The minister explained that this group is backed by Qatar and that its leaders are based in Doha hotels.
Qatari ransom style
Security reports pointed out that Qatar resorted to using the ransom method to fund extremist groups, as Doha offered its mediation to interfere with the Nigerian government and the terrorist group under the guise of releasing 110 Nigerians. However, this mediation was Doha's hidden path to finding a way to transfer funds to Boko Haram and finance new terrorist acts in various African countries.
Sudan and Boko Haram
In September 2019, Sudan announced the closure of its borders with Libya and Central Africa in anticipation of security and economic risks, which contributed to increasing tension in the troubled Darfur region, as the border region between South Darfur State and Central Africa is one of the most active areas in drug and arms trafficking. Um Dafuq is one of the most famous outlets for drug and arms smuggling, as well as random exploration for gold and precious metals.
In November 2019, following the overthrow of the Omar al-Bashir regime in popular protests, the Sudanese government announced its intention to form a joint force of the armed forces and the police to confront the potential challenges on the western border, where Boko Haram elements are active. It noted that the formation of this force on the border between Sudan, Central Africa, Chad and Libya comes with the aim of protecting Sudanese territory from the dangers of Boko Haram.
In December 2019, Doha attempted to send elements of the Boko Haram group to Sudan in an attempt to fuel violence, but Sudanese security forces responded to the attempt and arrested six militants holding Chadian citizenship.
According to the American Wall Street Journal in December 2019, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdock said that Sudan borders seven countries, while it is threatened by Boko Haram from the west, the Somali Al-Shabaab movement to the east, and al-Qaeda and ISIS in the north and outskirts.
