Nigeria’s military said Thursday that it was 100% ready to launch air strikes against Boko Haram Islamists as several thousand troops moved to the remote northeast to retake territory seized by the insurgents.
“The entire Nigerian military is involved in this operation, including the air force,” defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade told AFP.
“Definitely, air strikes will be used when necessary,” he said.
A force of “several thousand” soldiers along with fighter jets and helicopter gunships have been deployed for the offensive in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa state, he added.
The Islamists, who have said they are fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, have become emboldened and better armed in recent months.
The military spokesman said operations had begun in all three states, but declined to provide specifics.
The operation is the largest against Boko Haram since 2009, when soldiers flooded Borno’s capital Maiduguri, killing more than 800 people and forcing the insurgents underground for a year.
A military source who requested anonymity told AFP that Nigerian forces “raided some terrorist camps in the Sambisa Game Reserve,” in northern Borno, early on Wednesday.
Zangina Kyarimi, who lives in the remote town of Marti in northern Borno towards the border with Chad, said that “large military teams” arrived late Wednesday.
“I saw dozens of military vans and trucks accompanied by tanks,” he said by phone from the town, which is considered a Boko Haram stronghold.
“We are afraid of what might happen in the coming days. We are thinking of leaving,” he said.
In Adamawa, a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed, with all residents forced to stay indoors after sundown, the area’s military spokesman Lieutenant Ja-afar Mohammed Nuhu told AFP.
In Yobe state in the town of Gashua, scene of a deadly Boko Haram attack on April 26, a convoy of military personnel rolled through heading north to the Niger border, resident Musa Saminu said.
“Some of them went to the banks and asked them to close down as a precaution,” he told AFP.
While the military has vowed that the operation will “rid the nation’s border territories of terrorist bases,” there are doubts as to whether the security forces have the capacity to end the insurgency.
“The military is already overstretched,” former US ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell said Wednesday in an article for the Council on Foreign Relations.
The northeastern borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger are porous, with criminal groups and weapons moving freely between countries.
Analysts warn that despite the military buildup, Boko Haram could scatter and find new safe havens.
Many have urged Nigeria to address the social causes fuelling the insurgency, including acute poverty and frustration over excessive government corruption.
Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer, but most of its estimated 160 million people still live on less than two dollars a day.
Nigeria’s security forces have been accused of massive rights abuses in campaigns against Boko Haram, which may have amounted to crimes against humanity, according to Human Rights Watch.
The US State Department on Wednesday warned that any “heavy-handed” tactics or disregard for human rights during the emergency operations could damage bilateral relations.
Boko Haram is believed to be led by Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States, but the extent of his control is unclear.
Shekau has rejected any form of negotiation with Nigeria’s government.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2010, including killings by the security forces. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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John Campbell and his cohorts don't have any idea about Nigeria's military, they will be defeated and shamed. God is with our military.
ReplyDeleteGod help the security outfit. But the leaders should think about themselves in terms of corruption.
ReplyDeletePoverty and corruption is not the root cause of BH insurgents. Poverty has got nothing to do with Islamising Nigeria. The northern imperialist are bent on dislodging Christians out of Nigeria. They felt embarassed that a Christian should rule a nation that they have claimed is an Islamic State. There is nothing short of force that can resolve the crisis. The millitary should use maximum force against the group and their sponsors. They should even feel free to use Nuclear Weapon against them if the need arises. Those ppl are from the pit of hell.
ReplyDeleteThey still need the social programs this is not just a physical war but a war of ideolgy hearts and minds must be won.for lasting peace
ReplyDeleteBoko Haran are not Nigerians, they are infiltrators from porous boundary states in the North.They cannot come out boldly for amnesty because of fear. They have killed innocent christians in the North , destroy infrastracture and government establishment, burnt down Millitary barracks and Police atations and even Killed the Nigerian Forces without respect to the Law of this contry. This is the time to pay back for the crime they have committed, non of them and their colaborators /sponsors should be spared
ReplyDeletemilitary men this is not a physical war only is also a peritual war, pelease be prayerfol every thing with GOD is posible may the lord be with you and bring peace in NiGeRiA AMEN.
ReplyDeletemilitary men this is not a physical war only is also a peritual war, pelease be prayerfol every thing with GOD is posible may the lord be with you and bring peace in NiGeRiA AMEN.
ReplyDelete