The Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa (Arabic: جماعة أنصار المسلمين في بلاد السودان Jamāʿatu Anṣāril Muslimīna fī Bilādis Sūdān),[13] better known as Ansaru and less commonly called al-Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel,[9] is an Islamic fundamentalist Jihadist militant organisation originally based in the northeast of Nigeria.

On 31 December, the group published a message reaffirming its hostility to Boko Haram's ideology and stating that they had sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2020.

[17] Ansaru's exact origin is unclear, but it is known that the group emerged as a faction of Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist movement that launched an uprising against the Nigerian government in 2009.

The initial rebellion failed, whereupon parts of the movement fled to Algeria and Somalia, where they found shelter among al-Qaeda-linked organizations like AQIM and al-Shabaab.

[2] As result of these experiences, the "Sahara Men" became more sophisticated than the Boko Haram groups which had remained in Nigeria, and eventually came to criticize the latter's way to wage an insurgency.

[18] Having returned to Nigeria, Khalid Barnawi and Abubakar Adam Kambar disagreed with other Boko Haram commanders over the indiscriminate killing of civilians, urging a more concentrated effort against Western and high-profile targets.

[5] In what is its first claimed operation since 2013, Ansaru announced that it was behind the 14 January 2020 attack on the convoy of the Emir of Potiskum, Alhaji Umaru Bubaram, which was travelling on Kaduna-Zaria road.

[33][34] In response, on 4 February 2020 the Nigerian government launched an attack on an Ansaru camp housing bandits and kidnappers, reportedly killing 250 while sustaining a single casualty.

[35] On 13 August 2020, the Nigerian Air Force launched Operation Thunder Strike, targeting the camp of bandits linked to Ansaru in the Kuduru Forest of Kaduna State.

Since their reappearance, the group has maintained a presence in Kaduna State, specifically in Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Igabi and Giwa local government areas (LGOs).

The attackers reportedly invaded the base with motorcycles and used heavy weaponry such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to destroy two armored personnel carriers (APCs).

[45] Ishaq Usman Kasai, chairman of Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU) said that Ansaru was believed to be responsible the attack.

[48] On 13 July, a convoy of nearly 200 bandits on motorcycles battled with Ansaru in Damari, a small town in Kazage Ward, Birnin Gwari.

[50] Ansaru had seemingly lost control of the town, allowing bandits to move unchallenged and kidnap more than 50 people over the next few days, leading to a large exodus.

[52] On 14 August 2023, bandit leader Dogo Gide and his group downed a Nigerian Army helicopter reportedly killing 20 troops.

Gide's group reportedly suffered numerous losses during the battle, including that of close associates, family members and wanted bandits Mudi and Murtala.