The Nigerien army claimed to have killed last week “twenty terroristsof the jihadist group Boko Haram and captured 83 other suspected fighters during an operation on the border with Nigeria.
This operation ofair-land sweepwas aimed atneutralize» the bases of the Islamic State group in West Africa (ISWAP, a splinter faction of Boko Haram) installed in the Matari forest in Nigeria from where attacks on towns and military positions in Niger are planned, according to the bulletin of military operations in the Diffa region (south-eastern Niger), consulted on Wednesday by AFP.
‘Keep up the pressure’
It also aims tokeep the pressure on ISWAP» and to «cut supply lines“, describes the text. According to a report drawn up by the army, about twentyterrorists were neutralized” And “83 suspected Boko Haram terroristscaptured and then handed over to the Nigerian authorities. In addition, three basesenemies“, logistics depots and motorcycles were destroyed while weapons were seized.
The operation was carried out from March 13 to 19 by Nigerien soldiers from the Multinational Mixed Force (FMM), a force of 8,500 men launched in July 2015 by Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, to fight against groups armed jihadists. At the same time, the Nigerian military claims to have intercepted and handed over to the Nigerian authorities a total of 1,121 people suspected of being members of Boko Haram, including women and children.
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These people live in the Sambissa forest in northeastern Nigeria and travel to the Nigerian islands of Lake Chad to flee fighting with their rivals from the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap). On March 11, she had also killed “thirty terroristswho refused to surrender.
According to the Nigerien army, the clashes between ISWAP and Boko Haram during “for many monthsforced families to leave Sambissa to take refuge on the islands of Lake Chad, in Niger. The basin of this lake, which stretches its shores between Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, is a vast expanse of water and swamps where the jihadist groups Boko Haram and Iswap have established hideouts in the countless islets.