According to Nigerian army sources, speaking to a SaharaReporters correspondent on the condition of anonymity, soldiers have liberated 3,000 people from areas under the control of Boko Haram on Wednesday. It was also confirmed that the military killed at least two terrorists during this operation.
According to the military source, the thousands of civilians were held under the control of militants in villages around Dikwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State.
He noted that the Army Headquarters Strike Group responsible for the liberation of those civilians was engaged in a fierce gun battle with terrorists on Wednesday in Kudel and Kawari villages, which are about 11 kilometers from Dikwa town.
This source also told our correspondent that the liberated citizens looked malnourished and had very little strength. He added that most of those rescued were women, children, and elderly men.
He also disclosed that they have been screened by both the military and Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and have since been placed in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Dikwa where more than 50,000 people currently reside.
SaharaReporters also learned that some terrorists were killed when soldiers were returning to Maiduguri from Dikwa.