2019 Rann massacre
| 2019 Rann massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Boko Haram insurgency | |
| Location | Rann, Kala-Balge LGA, Borno State, Nigeria |
| Date | January 28, 2019 9am |
| Deaths | 60+ |
| Injured | Unknown |
| Victims | 50 missing 40,000 displaced |
| Perpetrator |  Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna |
On January 28, 2019, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna (also known as Boko Haram) attacked the town of Rann, Borno State, Nigeria, killing at least 60 civilians and displacing around 40,000 more.
Background
Boko Haram emerged in 2009 as a jihadist social and political movement in a failed rebellion in northeast Nigeria.[1] Throughout the following years, Abubakar Shekau unified militant Islamist groups in the region and continued to foment the rebellion against the Nigerian government, conducting terrorist attacks and bombings in cities and communities across the region.[2] In 2016, the group split into the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi and Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna (JAS), also known as Boko Haram, led by Abubakar Shekau.[3]
On January 17, 2017, the Nigerian Air Force mistakenly bombed civilians in Rann, killing over a hundred displaced civilians.[4] Despite both Nigerian and Cameroonian troops being stationed in the town, Rann is home to an IDP camp with around 35,000 refugees.[5] In December 2018, a jihadist group attacked Nigerian soldiers in Rann, although whether it was ISWAP or JAS is unknown.[6] On January 14, 2019, JAS attacked the Nigerian military base in Rann, breaching it with "relative ease" and killing 14 people including three soldiers.[5] Around 9,000 people fled Rann after the Jan. 14 attack, but almost all were forced by the Cameroonian military to return.[7]
After the Jan. 14 attack, Nigerian and Cameroonian troops returned to the base in Rann. The Cameroonian troops went back across the border to Cameroon on Jan. 27, and the Nigerian troops left because they did not have enough men and weapons to hold the post.[8]
Massacre
The massacre took place exactly one day after the Nigerian and Cameroonian troops departed the town.[8] At around 9am on January 28, a group of Boko Haram militants arrived on motorcycles and began setting houses in Rann ablaze.[9] Satellite footage in the days after the attack analyzed by Amnesty International showed that hundreds of structures were burned in the east, south, and southeast of the city, right next to the military base.[9] In the days after the attack, ten Civilian Joint Task Force militiamen buried the bodies of eleven civilians in the town. Outside the town, the bodies of 49 civilians were found, having been shot at by Boko Haram militants while fleeing the carnage.[9]
Amnesty International reported that at least 60 civilians were killed in the massacre, calling it the "deadliest attack yet" on Rann.[9][10][11] All of the town's elders and traditional leaders were executed, except for one.[8] One civilian interviewed by Reuters said that the corpses of the dead were lying in the streets.[7] Another 50 people were unaccounted for after the attack.[9] Around 40,000 people fled Rann following both the Jan. 14 and Jan. 28 massacres, almost all of them into Goura, in Cameroon.[12] About 35,000 people fled Rann following the Jan. 28 attack.[7] 10,000 of these displaced people returned to Rann by February 27, and 42,000 returned by July.[13][14] The Nigerian government denied that any attack or killings took place.[15]
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna was considered to be the suspect.[10][9]
References
- ↑ Walker, Andrew (2016-02-04). "Join us or die: the birth of Boko Haram". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "Nigeria unrest: 'Boko Haram' gunmen kill 44 at mosque". BBC News. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "JAS vs. ISWAP: The War of the Boko Haram Splinters | International Crisis Group". www.crisisgroup.org. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Nigeria air strike dead 'rises to 115' in Rann". BBC News. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- 1 2 Kelly, Fergus (2019-01-17). "Nigeria: Shekau Boko Haram faction claims Rann attack". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ AFP, Staff Writer With (2018-12-07). "Boko Haram attacks Nigeria army bases in Bama and Rann". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- 1 2 3 "'The corpses were lying on the streets': Nigerian refugees flee Boko Haram - Cameroon | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- 1 2 3 Carsten, Paul (February 4, 2019). "After Nigerian army abandoned town, Boko Haram slaughtered at least 60". Reuters. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Nigeria: Deadliest Boko Haram attack on Rann leaves at least 60 people murdered". Amnesty International. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- 1 2 "The New Normal: Continuity and Boko Haram's Violence in North East Nigeria | ACLED". acleddata.com. 2026-05-13. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Briefing: Nigerians seek safety in Cameroon as Boko Haram crisis escalates". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Nothing to drink and nowhere to sleep for thousands who've fled Rann, Nigeria | Cameroon | MSF". www.msf.org. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Nigeria – Borno State, North-East: Flash Update No. 1 – Displacement to Rann town (27 February 2019) - Nigeria | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Lake Chad Snapshot: Issue 10 (March – May 2019) - Nigeria | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
- ↑ Report, Agency (2019-02-02). "No records of 60 persons killed in Rann - Nigerian Army". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2026-06-02.