Boko Haram: Inside liberated territories

The six weeks postponement of the polls the security forces demanded to enable them flush out Boko Haram fighters from occupied territories in the North-east states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa appears to be paying off. Military sources claimed that many of the towns captured by the Islamist group had been liberated. Buoyed by the military expedition against the group, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, visited the liberated territories and met with the troops deployed in the area against Boko Haram. Sources told Sunday Vanguard that the presidential visit was to encourage the troops to continue their onslaught against the terror group, expressing optimism that, at the pace of the battle against the insurgents, the target of liberating most of the occupied territories within the six weeks earmarked by the military would be met. The renewed battle against Boko Haram, the source said, predated early February when the six weeks deadline was set to liberate the occupied territories. The recaptured territories according to the military timeline: January 25 -TROOPS REPEL MASSIVE ATTACKS ON MAIDUGURI, OTHER TOWNS IN BORNO Nigerian troops successfully repelled simultaneous attacks on Monguno and Maiduguri by terrorists in coordinated air and land operations. Scores of the terrorists died in the course of the attacks, while many were captured. A Cobra armoured vehicle and a heavy artillery gun, as well as machine guns & other weapons were recovered from the fleeing terrorists. Three cars loaded with explosives were destroyed. Troops in Konduga successfully repelled terrorist attacks twice same day. Some soldiers, however, lost their lives. Others who were wounded were evacuated for medical treatment. The 24-hour-curfew imposed in the course of the operation was to be lifted as soon as mopping up was concluded. Meanwhile, an exclusively coordinated air campaign took over from ground forces in Monguno, as troops had to retreat from the location after the Brigade Commander & some troops were wounded while repelling the terrorist attack on the town. Calm was restored in Maiduguri & Konduga as the operations continued with patrols & surveillance. January 27- HEAVY WEAPONS CAPTURED As fighting continued, more casualty was recorded on the part of the terrorists as troops battled fleeing ones with reinforcement at the outskirts of Maiduguri and Konduga. Substantial amounts of heavy weapons were captured, as more Boko Haram fighters died in the battle which lasted till the following morning. Special forces also recorded casualty. Meanwhile, ground troops took charge and airforce patrol continued. January 29 – TERRORISTS SACKED FROM MICHIKA An extensive mopping up to search for arms or stranded terrorists and other casualties commenced in Michika, Adamawa State after troops sacked terrorists who had been operating in the town and environs. The main assault on the terrorists main positions was concluded the previous day and many of the terrorists died in the combat. Troops, who sustained injuries in the operation, were evacuated for medical attention. Other troops continued the pursuit of terrorists on the run from the town. Meanwhile, Nigerian officers in key command positions of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MJTF, who bungled their tasks, were summoned to account for their actions leading to the loss of weapons, men and location in their areas of responsibility. “This is a normal military procedure in major operations or after some encounter. The essence is to extract and collate relevant information for subsequent missions. It could also lead to or determine appropriate disciplinary action where necessary”, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said. January-30-MILITARY CAPTURES ARMOURED VEHICLES, ARTILLERY GUNS IN OVERNIGHT BATTLE Terrorists who, in their disarray, strayed towards Bama, Ngom, Alou, Delwa and Mafa in the night were contained after troops launched attacks on their positions. Mopping up led to the capture of several weapons, arms and ammunition including two armoured vehicles and two artillery guns as well as 17 Toyota Hilux vehicles. Several of the terrorists also died. The affected locations were secured and soldiers wounded given treatment. Patrols and pursuit of fleeing terrorists continued. A further attack by terrorists on Maiduguri in the early hours of the day was quickly contained. The terrorists incurred massive casualty as a large number of them died in the encounter. The situation remained calm as mopping up in the affected area took place. The operation was in coordination with the MNJTF. The terrorists were engaged from all fronts including their previous safe havens and hideouts in the North-east. “The strategy was in line with the arrangement for a comprehensive and coordinated military operation with inputs by military forces in the Lake Chad Basin Commission namely: Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon”, the DHQ said. February 2-’NIGERIA’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY REMAINS INTACT’ The DHQ, while reacting to reports that Chad crossed into Nigeria’s territory to kill Boko Haram fighters against international convention, said, “The Multi-National Joint Task Force in which Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad have contingents are part of the ongoing onslaught against terrorists in this region. “The countries that make up the Lake Chad Basin Commission also had some understanding, which now enables a massive move against terrorists from all angles. “Contrary to the impression being pushed in some quarters, it is the Nigerian forces that planned and are driving the present onslaught against terrorists from all fronts in Nigeria; not the Chadian Forces as is being propagated by some media. “For instance Chadian forces have been deployed in Baga Sola, which is a Chadian territory. “There have been some joint deployments and patrols around Kirawa, Ashgashiya and other locations in borders of Cameroun, Nigeria and Chad as part of these operations. “Chadians and others are however keying into and working in concert with the overall plan for an all-round move against the terrorists as agreed. “Nigeria’s territorial integrity remains intact”. February 14 -300 TERRORISTS SMOKED OUT Mop up of some of the communities where terrorists had been cleared in the course of air and land operations confirmed massive casualty inflicted on them in two days of counter terrorist operations. Over 300 terrorists were killed while some were captured. Several weapons and equipment were also recovered and some destroyed. It was confirmed that five different types of armoured fighting vehicles, an anti-aircraft gun, about 50 cases of packed bombs and eight different types of machine guns, five rocket propelled grenade, 49 boxes of various types and calibres of ammunition as well as 300 motorcycles were destroyed in the fighting. Six Toyota Hilux vehicles, including those mounted with anti-aircraft guns, were destroyed. However, two soldiers lost their lives while 10 others were wounded in the course of the operation. Cordon and search operations took place along with aggressive patrols by troops who dominated the cleared communities of Monguno, Gabchari, Abba Jabari, Zuntur, Gajigana, Gajiram, Damakar, Kumaliwa, Bosso Wanti, Jeram and Kabrisungul. The various phases of the coordinated air and land operations also continued in the designated theatres that were handled by contingents involved in the renewed counter terrorism campaign in and outside Nigeria. Feb. 15 – MILITARY OPERATIONS TO CLEAR TERRORISTS FROM MONGUNO SUCCESSFUL Following days of fierce fighting with the airforce leading from the air, troops completed the mission of clearing terrorists from Monguno and environs. A number of terrorists as well as truck loads of rice, beans and other logistics meant for resupply to the terrorists operating around Baga were captured in the course of operation. Heavy casualty casualty was inflicted on the terrorists and arms recovered as well. Munguno, Marte and other communities were secured. The air and land operation continued with aggressive advance towards other designated communities and locations meant to be cleared in the offensive against the terrorists. February 18 – MORE TERRORISTS DIE IN SAMBISA AND GWOZA Concerted air campaign by the Nigerian Air Force continued in furtherance of the mission to clear terrorists from their enclaves. On this day, air strikes, which targeted the training camps and logistics dumps of terrorists in Sambisa forest and parts of Gwoza, were successful. The death of a large number of terrorists was recorded while many others scampered all over the forest and out of the struck bases. Meanwhile, there were also air strikes on other locations of the theatre heralding the advance of troops and other elements of the mission. Feb. 20 – TROOPS DEFY LAND MINES, FLUSH TERRORISTS OUT OF BAGA Several hundreds of terrorists drowned in the Lake Chad as they fled the heavy bombardment by the air force heralding the advance of troops on mission to flush them out of Baga. Not even the strategy of mining over 1,500 spots on the routes leading to the town could save the terrorists from the aggressive move of advancing troops. All the land mines were cleared one after the other. Eventually, the resistance of the terrorists collapsed and the land forces finally stormed the town. Many of the terrorists died while a substantial number of them fled with various degrees of injury. Apart from the five anti-aircraft guns and the rifles captured from the terrorists, over 34 motorcycles and five vehicles including trucks used for operations by the terrorists were destroyed in the course of the fighting as troops headed for Baga. The troops finally began clearing the terrorists from Baga on arrival in the town the following morning. A comprehensive cordon and search phase of military operation later took place to enable troops mop up arms and ammunition and also apprehend any terrorist who might be hiding. Similar exercise was carried out in over 15 locations namely Gajigana, Ngaze, Ngenzai, Marte Junction, Mile 90, Yoyo, Kekeno, Kukawa, Cross Kauwa,, Kangarwa, Amirari, Kichimatari, Borokari Barati, Kauwa and other localities where troops flushed out the terrorists in the operations preceding the entry to Baga. Feb. 22 -TERRORISTS DISGUISE AS WOMEN AS CORDON AND SEARCH YIELD WEAPONS The cordon and search in Baga, after its recapture, revealed that some terrorists disguised as women in their escape bid. The searches also yielded more discoveries of arms especially bombs hidden in various locations in the town. Apart from those captured in the course of fighting, many arrests of terrorists hiding in the town were made. Furthermore, the air force stepped up its air bombardment of identified targets in Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, preparatory to other phases of the mission. The air strikes hit vital targets with precision. Terrorists were in disarray as they scampered to escape from the impact of the air bombardment. ADAMAWA: SEVEN LGAS FRESH In Adamawa State, the military onslaught, led by attack aircraft, resulted in the liberation of seven local government areas out of the eight that hitherto had Boko Haram fighters presence. The local government areas fully liberated are Mubi North, Mubi South, Hong, Gombi , Maiha, Ganye and Michika. Madagali local government area, which has Gulak as its headquarter and was the only area still in the hands of Boko Haram, was finally liberated on Friday after two days of fierce fighting. Bara, the headquarter of Gukani local governmet area of Yobe State, was also liberated as well as five other communities namely: Shikah, Fikayel, Tetebah, Buza, Kamla and Bumsa. Nigerian military forces recorded this remarkable success following new acquisitions like mines counter armoured personnel carriers such as the High Velocity T72 armoured tanks and the Cobras equipped with night vision, which can operate in any terrain. Instructively, if some countries, who claimed they were friends of Nigeria, had made these military equipment available to our military before now, Boko Haram probably wouldn’t have festered. The authorities had to resort to buying the equipment from eastern Europe which, military sources said, have even turned out to be more effective and durable than the ones earlier requested for from the West.