Chapter One
1.1 Background to the Study
An insurgency is known to be an armed rebellion against law enforcement or an authority. Usually, insurgency arises whenever a group of dissatisfied persons decides to stage an armed attack against the government of a country. As such, recruitment for insurgency becomes very easy since the common indicator of an insurgent is dissatisfaction with governmental policies, which thus feed into finding outlets for the seething grievances. This translates to the fact that the justification for engagement in uprisings against the government is that such is a fight for a just cause that might be beneficial to their country in years ahead.
An instance of insurgency is the Communist insurgent group in the Philippines, traceable to the early 19th century, precisely 1968 and still exists till date. It has outlasted martial law and four democratically elected governments. Despite what many consider as anachronistic ideology, the insurgency has endured, because many of its criticisms like income inequality, human rights abuses and broader social injustice still resonate with some Filipinos. Equally, since the 1960s, the Southern region of Thailand experienced the same dimension of insurgency challenges as the Philippines, and this is still ongoing.
It started as an ethnic conflict, involving 4 provinces- Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Since onset, the insurgents have become increasingly violent. The insurgency formed from these four provinces was ruthless and sees no reason for negotiating either with the government or with other insurgent groups. Thai analysts believed that foreign Islamic terrorist groups were infiltrating the area and that foreign funds and arms were being brought into the country; this has
served as both the major cause and driver of insurgency in Southern Thailand. The United Kingdom has also had its fair share of insurgency. The Jewish insurgency in Palestine dates back to 1939-1948 at the British Mandatory Palestine. It occurred as a result of violent campaigns carried out by Jewish underground groups against the British forces and officials which led to the death of dozens of British soldiers, Jewish militants and civilians.
Insurgency in Nigeria can be dated far back to 20th November 1999 and is still existing till date and it is stronger than it has ever been before. It‟s concentrated in the Northern states of Nigeria but most prominent in Borno state. Looking back at the history of Nigeria, there has not been any serious and intense insurgent group which led to death of over 1500 people since it started. Although there were crisis and conflict among ethnic groups, nothing made headlines like the Boko Haram insurgent group in Nigeria.