TheCable

Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the new Boko Haram leader recently unveiled by ISIS, has revealed his intentions to blow up churches and kill Christians.

According to SITE Intelligence Group, Al-Barnawi has made it clear that Boko Haram under his watch would carry out more attacks on churches and Christians.

A translation of an interview published in the Islamic State newspaper al-Nabaa indicated that the focus of the sect would shift away from attacking mosques and Muslims.

Al-Barnawi said there is a plot by the Western nations to Christianize the West African region and also insinuated that charity organisations are being used to carry out this agenda.

“They strongly seek to Christianize the society,” he said. “They exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing them with food and shelter and then Christianizing their children.”

Described in the interview as “Governor”, Al-Barnawi was further quoted as saying Boko Haram would begin “booby-trapping and blowing up every church that we are able to reach, and killing all of those (Christians) who we find from the citizens of the cross.”

The Islamic State (IS) had on Wednesday announced the change in leadership in the ranks of Boko Haram, its terror affiliate in Nigeria.

As at January 2015, Al-Barnawi was named as the spokesperson of Boko Haram, which now implies that he has been a prominent member of the inner circle of Abubakar Shekau, former leader of the Islamic sect.

Shekau’s, whose present condition is unknown, last addressed the world through an audio message released about a year ago.

In the message, Shekau said he was alive and had not been replaced as was being speculated among Nigeria’s security agencies.