World Conflicts
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Nigeria / Lake Chad Basin insurgency (Boko Haram, ISWAP)

Active High intensity Internationalized intrastate Africa 26 Jul 2009 to present

Nigerian and neighbouring forces fight Boko Haram (JAS) and Islamic State West Africa Province around Lake Chad and Borno State. Deaths in the Lake Chad Basin rose about 60% in the year to mid-2026. Since May 2026 US forces have joined Nigerian operations, killing senior ISWAP leader Abu Bilal al-Minuki, but attacks on army bases continue.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

Senior ISWAP/IS leader killed
Abu Bilal al-Minuki, May 2026 (joint US-Nigeria raid)
PM News Nigeria as of 18 May 2026
ISWAP attack tempo since mid-May 2026
Over six attacks per week
Critical Threats, Africa File August 13, 2026 as of 13 Aug 2026
Year-on-year rise in Lake Chad Basin deaths
About 60%
Africa Center for Strategic Studies as of 12 Aug 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
457
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
4K–6.6Krange across 2 sources
People displaced
1.4M–2.3Mrange across 2 sources
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
6.1M
Recorded events, last 30 days
120

Parties and actors

  • Nigerian Armed Forces State armed forces · aligned with Government
  • Multinational Joint Task Force / Cameroon, Chad, Niger forces State armed forces · aligned with Government
  • US military (AFRICOM) Foreign state armed forces (joint operations, airstrikes) · aligned with Government
  • Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Non-state armed group
  • Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram/JAS) Non-state armed group

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub

No negotiation track is currently tracked for this conflict.

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 125 250 250 500 375 750 500 1KNov 2021: 53 events, 263 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 74 events, 327 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 94 events, 467 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 68 events, 202 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 52 events, 239 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 99 events, 414 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 54 events, 214 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 97 events, 318 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 83 events, 310 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 92 events, 404 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 111 events, 245 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 99 events, 257 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 74 events, 312 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 95 events, 482 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 64 events, 183 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 87 events, 475 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 80 events, 413 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 94 events, 236 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 81 events, 184 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 96 events, 361 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 140 events, 271 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 110 events, 398 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 132 events, 197 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 100 events, 396 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 153 events, 419 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 217 events, 356 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 137 events, 299 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 177 events, 247 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 158 events, 235 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 109 events, 470 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 128 events, 187 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 137 events, 540 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 146 events, 344 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 164 events, 411 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 127 events, 206 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 97 events, 172 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 165 events, 455 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 127 events, 243 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 192 events, 612 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 98 events, 162 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 160 events, 340 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 69 events, 238 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 152 events, 541 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 177 events, 330 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 151 events, 251 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 137 events, 379 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 151 events, 489 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 147 events, 666 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 251 events, 651 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 159 events, 333 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 209 events, 539 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 227 events, 596 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 191 events, 798 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 270 events, 834 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 248 events, 957 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 180 events, 254 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 182 events, 351 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 246 events, 495 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 159 events, 351 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 120 events, 457 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians). Selected provinces only, matching this conflict's area.
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 2026120457
Sep 2026159351
Aug 2026246495
Jul 2026182351
Jun 2026180254
May 2026248957
Apr 2026270834
Mar 2026191798
Feb 2026227596
Jan 2026209539
Dec 2025159333
Nov 2025251651
Oct 2025147666
Sep 2025151489
Aug 2025137379
Jul 2025151251
Jun 2025177330
May 2025152541
Apr 202569238
Mar 2025160340
Feb 202598162
Jan 2025192612
Dec 2024127243
Nov 2024165455
Oct 202497172
Sep 2024127206
Aug 2024164411
Jul 2024146344
Jun 2024137540
May 2024128187
Apr 2024109470
Mar 2024158235
Feb 2024177247
Jan 2024137299
Dec 2023217356
Nov 2023153419
Oct 2023100396
Sep 2023132197
Aug 2023110398
Jul 2023140271
Jun 202396361
May 202381184
Apr 202394236
Mar 202380413
Feb 202387475
Jan 202364183
Dec 202295482
Nov 202274312
Oct 202299257
Sep 2022111245
Aug 202292404
Jul 202283310
Jun 202297318
May 202254214
Apr 202299414
Mar 202252239
Feb 202268202
Jan 202294467
Dec 202174327
Nov 202153263

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 125 250 375 500 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Borno (Nigeria) 1,124 events · 4,948 fatalities
  2. Extreme-Nord (Cameroon) 844 events · 580 fatalities
  3. Yobe (Nigeria) 150 events · 441 fatalities
  4. Adamawa (Nigeria) 115 events · 365 fatalities
  5. Lac (Chad) 115 events · 127 fatalities
  6. Diffa (Niger) 94 events · 155 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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