For the third day in a row, Nigerian troops battling Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram have rescued more girls, women and children abducted by the insurgents and kept in Sambisa Forest in Borno State.[slideshow]39385[/slideshow]
A press statement just released by Major-General Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman at Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters in Abuja, disclosed that soldiers “have commenced operations deep into the Sambisa forest after sustained aerial bombardments by the Nigerian Air Force.” The statement revealed that the main objective was “to decimate and clear the terrorists from the forest which is their last bastion.”
General Olukolade added that the coordinated operation was already yielding results, with the rescue of 200 girls and 93 women formerly held by the Islamist militants. “Over 13 terrorists camps, including the notorious Tokumbere camp in Sambisa forest, have been captured. Other camps overran and destroyed by troops include Wulari Bukar, Gangala, Anguwar Bakwai, Jigide, Kotorima, Lagura Bello, Lagina Fulani,” the statement disclosed.
The Nigerian military spokesman also told reporters that numerous field commanders and foot soldiers belonging to the terrorist group had been killed in the ongoing operation. According to him, Nigerian troops destroyed some armored personnel carriers, Buffalo vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns, a truck and several Hilux vehicles.
Nigerian troops have so far captured some anti-aircraft guns, general-purpose machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and AK 47 rifles from the fleeing insurgents.
“Unfortunately though, we lost one soldier in the course of the operation while 10 others have so far been wounded,” said the army general.
Since more than 200 women and girls were rescued from the dreaded Sambisa forest, global attention has focused on whether some of the rescued girls were part of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014. So far, according to the military, the task of determining the identity of the rescued women has not been completed.
General Olukolade noted that the “true identity of some of the rescued women and girls are yet to be ascertained,” adding that the priority for now was to move all the rescued women and girls to a conducive place “where they are now undergoing thorough profiling to verify their true identity, where they come from, how they found themselves in the forest, etc.”
He stated that more persons were still being recovered from the forest. “Until such comprehensive profiling is done, nobody can confirm whether they are among the Chibok girls or not,” said Mr. Olukolade.
He added: “Whoever they may be, the important thing is that Nigerians held captive under very severe and inhuman condition have been freed by our gallant troops. The joy and sense of hope being expressed by many Nigerians on hearing about the rescue operation is therefore understandable. We would like to reassure them that the momentum of this operation will be sustained until that Sambisa forest is comprehensively cleaned out and all Nigerians held captive within the bowels of the forest are rescued. There is great hope for the recovery of more hostages of the terrorists.”
The militant spokesman asserted, “the dislodged and disorganized terrorists are in flight [in] different directions and running helter-skelter in the expansive forest. There is no longer any respite or sanctuary for them; they will be pursued and tracked down not minding the daunting challenges in the mission including hundreds of land mines and difficult terrain of the Sambisa forest.
“It should be noted however that the essence of this operation is not to kill everybody in sight. We encourage any of the combatants who is desirous to surrender to come out, as the forest will no more be tenable as a haven for their activities. In the same vein, innocent civilians among those in flight are also encouraged to report themselves to the troops. We will continue to treat civilians in the most professional and humane way.
“We thank all Nigerians for their continued prayers and support and assure them that Never Again shall forces of darkness reign supreme in our country.”