His absence has prompted questions over
whether he may have have been killed, injured or removed from the group
as its overall commander. During a visit to Boko Haram's strongholds in
north-east Nigeria last month, The Daily Telegraph was told by soldiers
that they believed he had fled the country, shaving off his Islamist
beard to help him disguise.
The new
ten-minute long video featured an unidentified young man who said he
spoke in the name of "The army of the caliphate in West Africa". The
name, versions of which have been used by Boko Haram in the past, is
believed to be reference to the group's declaration of allegiance
earlier this year to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The masked speaker in the video uses the broadcast to deny the Nigerian army's claims that it has retaken much of Boko Haram's core territory in the north-east. He also brandishes the ID cards of government soldiers that he claims Boko Haram has killed, and points to the wreckage of what he says is a warplane that has been brought down.
The speaker, who was carrying a rifle, said that he was currently based in the Sambisa Forest, a wooded area the size of Belgium that is the group's main hideout. In the last two months, the Nigerian army has raided at least five Boko Haram camps in the forest, freeing around 750 kidnapped women and children.
Reports of Shekau's death have proved premature in the past, with several previous claims by the Nigerian military that he had been killed subsequently proved false.
The masked speaker in the video uses the broadcast to deny the Nigerian army's claims that it has retaken much of Boko Haram's core territory in the north-east. He also brandishes the ID cards of government soldiers that he claims Boko Haram has killed, and points to the wreckage of what he says is a warplane that has been brought down.
The speaker, who was carrying a rifle, said that he was currently based in the Sambisa Forest, a wooded area the size of Belgium that is the group's main hideout. In the last two months, the Nigerian army has raided at least five Boko Haram camps in the forest, freeing around 750 kidnapped women and children.
Reports of Shekau's death have proved premature in the past, with several previous claims by the Nigerian military that he had been killed subsequently proved false.
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