Soldiers overrun 10 Boko Haram camps in Sambisa forest as battle rages – DHQ

Nigerian soldiers on Saturday continued their offensive on the Boko Haram insurgents in the Sambisa Forest,c a major enclave of the group.

In a statement on Sunday, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, stated that 10 camps belonging to the insurgents were overrun by soldiers while an ‘unconfirmed’ number of the insurgents were also killed.

“The Dure camp which is one of the most prominent camps in the forest witnessed the fiercest battle as the Special Forces descended heavily on it before it finally fell,” the DHQ spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, said.

Mr. Olukolade said “four of the camps were located in a place called Iza within the forest while three others were noted to be recently established by the terrorists before the assault began.”
He added that “one soldier died from one of the land mine(s) encountered in the operation while two others were also wounded.”

“The terrorists lost a number of vehicles mounted with Anti-Aircraft Guns as well as armoured vehicles. Some of the terrorists who escaped from the camps also died as they ran into troops ambush in some escape routes from the forest.

“Meanwhile, some of the fleeing terrorists have also engaged in suicide missions at Bitta where they encountered the Nigerian troops and Kiskeru across the border in Niger Republic.

“The Operation to clear the terrorists in Sambisa and other forests is continuing as troops in all fronts have been alerted to be on the look out for fleeing terrorists. The Nigerian Air force is maintaining an active air surveillance to track the movement of terrorists for appropriate action as the operation continues.”

The Sambisa Forest is considered the major base of the insurgents whose activities in Northern Nigeria have caused the death of about 20,000 people since 2009 and the displacement of millions of others.