Boko Haram flag — Niger Reporters
Boko Haram flag
Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. It has so far caused havoc in the country through series of bombings, assassinations and abductions. Four years after kidnapping more than 270 girls from a school in the town of Chibok, the group struck again this February, attacking a boarding school in northern Nigeria, with over 100 girls being held by the Islamist insurgent group. After attacking various communities and causing havoc, Boko Haram usually burns the Nigerian flag and hoists its black and white flags, which look like a modified Islamic State flag.
Al-Shabaab flag — Garry M. Borgacci
Al-Shabaab flag
This flag, which has similarities with Boko Haram’s is owned by the group which is fighting to topple Somalia and impose its own rule. For now, Al-Shabaab has lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns after being pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. The group, however, retains a strong presence in parts of the south and centre and still carries out gun and bomb attacks. The group’s flag has a black background on which is written the “shahada” in white. In 2009, violent fighting occurred in a Somali town after the national flag was removed by rebels.
