The regional alliance against Boko Haram has made significant gains in the joint offensive launched early Sunday by Niger and Chad to recapture two towns in the North East, killing more than 300 terrorists in the operation, a military source disclosed yesterday.
Chad, however, lost 10 soldiers who died in the fierce fighting to retake Malam Fatouri and Damasak towns previously occupied by Boko Haram, while about 30 Nigerien soldiers and Chadian troops were wounded in the clashes.
Latest updates from the war zone stated that despite the loss of men, troops made momentous gains and recovered several modern weapons apart from destroying several other supplies belonging to the terrorist group.
A Chadian field officer, who pleaded anonymity, said about 10 Chadian soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in the fight to liberate the towns. “We have kicked the enemy out of these areas and the towns are now under our control,” one of the Niger military sources said.
Niger and Chadian troops have been amassing troops in recent weeks near Damasak, the town 10 kilometres inside Nigeria, south of the Niger border, ahead of another major offensive.
A medical source in Diffa, the capital of the Niger region, confirmed that 30 wounded Chadian soldiers were been admitted into the town’s hospital for urgent treatment.
The Niger military source said about 300 Boko Haram militants had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the death toll and it was not possible to verify the figure.
Nigeria, which has launched its own offensive against the militants, has said nothing about the latest gains but the Chadian source remarked that its military had explicit permission to operate inside Nigeria. “We have permission from Nigeria for this action.”
However, Nigerian officials have dismissed Boko Haram pledge of allegiance to Islamic State, describing it as “a clear reaction to military pressure from Nigeria and its allies.”
Army spokesman, Colonel Sami Usman Kukasheka, remarked that Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, was now behaving like a “drowning man.” He said: “The military will definitely see to the end of insurgency in Nigeria. It is in our general interest that the virus is removed. There is no surprise that he is craving for support from fellow terrorists across the world.
“Basically, he just wants to create panic to pave the way for help that will not even come because very soon, we will see to the end of the insurgency in Nigeria,” Colonel Sami Usman Kukasheka said.
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