Fifteen Boko Haram fighters were killed and 20 others arrested by the
Nigerien Defense and Security Forces (FDS) during clashes that occurred
between June 18 to 23 in Niger’s Diffa region near the Nigerian border.
An official source said Wednesday that following the attack carried
out on June 17 in Niger’s Gueskerou commune by the Islamist sect,
killing 38 civilians, FDS launched ground and air operations in the
area.
The spokesman for Niger’s Defense Ministry, Moustapha Ledru, said 15
terrorists had been killed, 20 others arrested, one armoured vehicle
recovered and 20 motorcycles destroyed during the operation.
No injuries were reported on the part of the army, the statement by the defense ministry’s spokesman said.
The statement quoted Niger’s National Defense Minister, Karidjo
Mahamadou, as hailing the FDS for the brilliant operation against the
terrorists and encouraged them to continue with the fight to restore
peace and security.
For over three months, Niger, just like other countries in the Lake
Chad Basin, has come under deadly attacks from Boko Haram, leaving tens
of civilians and soldiers dead.
Nigerien and Chadian forces are currently engaged in a large scale
operation against Boko Haram sect to secure Lake Chad basin and stop
further attacks in Nigerien regions of Diffa and Bosso.
IN a major boost in the war against terror, the military in a
well-coordinated attack from the air has recaptured 11 communities from
terrorists in the Northeast. Two soldiers died, while more than 300 Boko
Haram fighters were killed in the last two days, according to
information from Defence Headquarters.
Meanwhile, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau has threatened
that the group would disrupt the March 28 presidential election. Shekau
stated this on Tuesday in a new video purportedly released by the
group.
Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade,
in a statement Wednesday said that the mop-up operations had further
weakened the insurgents with “massive casualty inflicted on them within
the last two days of the counter terrorist operations.” Several weapons,
military equipment and vehicles belonging to the insurgents were either
destroyed or captured.
Olukolade said: “Mopping up operation of some of the communities
where terrorists have been cleared in the course of ongoing air and land
operations against terrorists has indicated massive casualty inflicted
on them within the last two days of the counter terrorists operations.
Over 300 terrorists were killed while a few were also captured.”
This operation, according to the Defence spokesman, is now
dominated by the federal troops who are combing the areas to fish out
any element that might be hiding and clear the area of the group.
“It has been 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
grenades, 49 boxes of various types and calibres of ammunition as well
as 300 motorcycles were destroyed in the fighting.
“A total of six Hilux vehicles including those mounted with anti-aircraft guns were also destroyed,” the statement said.
According to the reports from the Defence Headquarters, the air and
land operations which have continued with aggressive advance towards
other designated communities and locations away from Monguno a few days
ago, meant to be cleared in the ongoing offensive against the
terrorists have continued to record resounding successes. The troops
have already cleared 11 communities of the terrorists and their
elements, it said.
It added: “The cordon and search operations is continuing along
with aggressive patrols by troops who are now dominating the cleared
communities such as Monguno, Gabchari, Abba Jabari, Zuntur, Gajigana,
Gajiram, Damakar, Kumaliwa, Bosso Wanti, Jeram and Kabrisungul.
“The various phases of the highly coordinated air and land
operations are also ongoing in the designated theatres being handled by
contingents involved in the renewed counter terrorism campaign in and
outside Nigeria.
“However, two soldiers lost their lives while 10 others were
wounded in the course of the operation” and are being treated in some
military hospitals.”
In the video, released on on-line medium on Tuesday and obtained by
United States-based SITE intelligence group, Shekau warned President
Goodluck Jonathan’s government that next month’s elections would be
disrupted with violence.
“Allah will not leave you to proceed with these elections even
after us, because you are saying that authority is from people to
people, which means that people should rule each other, but Allah says
that the authority is only to Him, only his rule is the one which
applies on this land,” he said.
“And finally we say that these elections that you are planning to
do, will not happen in peace, even if that costs us our lives.”
In the video message, titled: “A message to the leaders of the
disbelievers,” the contents of which have not been verified, Shekau also
chided the leadership of regional countries who are co-ordinating
efforts against the group.
“You are claiming that we don’t know how to fight, but we forced
your forces to flee from their bases, and we freed our imprisoned
brothers from the prisons that you oppressed them in, only praise be to
Allah.”
Nigeria’s presidential election was to be originally held on February 14, but was postponed due to security concerns.
Speaking before Shekau’s threat, Niger’s President Mahamadou
Issoufou vowed that his country would herald the end for the rebels,
whose six-year insurgency has cost more than 13,000 lives.
Renewed attacks
“Niger will be the death of Boko Haram,” he told a cheering crowd after a protest against the insurgents in the capital Niamey.
But Boko Haram has proved resilient and experts question whether the group can be overpowered in the short-term.
On Tuesday, two suicide attacks ripped through Northeast Nigeria, killing at least 38 people and injuring 20 others.
In a separate development, the United States (U.S.) military said
on Tuesday that it would be providing communications equipment and
intelligence to help African nations in the fight against Boko Haram.
Major General James Linder said that as part of the annual
U.S.-backed ‘Flintlock’ counter-terrorism exercises this year in Chad,
the United States would provide technology allowing African partners to
communicate between cellphones, radios and computers.
The renewed attacks on Tuesday came as Heads of State from Central
African countries were ending a meeting in the Camerounian capital,
Yaounde, to plan the creation of a joint military response to the
growing regional threat posed by Boko Haram.
The 10-member states announced that they had contributed more than
50 per cent of the $100 million needed to fight Boko Haram. They also
called on Nigeria to cooperate by allowing the multinational joint task
force to attack Boko Haram in its strongholds in Nigeria.
Boko Haram has fought a five-year insurgency, has recently begun
stepping up its attacks against neighbouring countries after Cameroun,
Niger, Chad and Benin agreed to contribute troops toward a regional
military effort.
The violence has forced some 157,000 people to seek refuge in
Niger, while 40,000 others have gone to Cameroun and 17,000 are in Chad,
the UN said.
Almost one million Nigerians are internally displaced, according to the country’s own statistics.
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