Over 40 shot dead at Nigerian mosque by suspected Boko Haram gunmen: What’s behind this latest attack?

(Vatican Radio) At least 44 worshippers have been gunned down at a mosque in the town of Kondura in north-eastern Nigeria. Local officials say the gunmen are suspected members of the radical Islamic group Boko Haram that is waging a violent campaign to oust the government. Boko Haram gunmen have frequently attacked Christian churches in Nigeria so why did they target a mosque this time around? Charles Moré is an editor for the magazine Africa Confidential. He told Susy Hodges that local civilian vigilante groups who have sprung up to help the military in its campaign against Boko Haram were seen as the main targets of this attack.

Listen to the full interview with Charles Moré.

Moré believes it was “inevitable” that these new vigilante groups would eventually “emerge as targets” for Boko Haram militants, especially as they’ve received “a lot of support” from the government. As with any vigilante group, Moré believes there is a danger that “further down the line” these groups could sometimes be tempted to take matters too much into their own hands. But right now, he says, the Nigerian government “needs any assistance it can get … and having visible civilian support against Boko Haram makes the government look good.”