• Scores killed over control of Lake Chad, Borno
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
A deadly clash between members of the Islamic States of West Africa (ISWAP) and Boko Haram fighters has left scores of terrorists killed in the North East of Borno State.
Sources said the recent rivalry clash occurred along the road between Gajiganna and Gajiram last Friday.
A Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama, who confirmed the killings, said some of the Boko Haram fighters on motorcycles staged an ambush to attack two vehicles of ISWAP, which led to a heavy fighting.
He said: “In the course of the encounter, several Boko Haram terrorists were killed, while their motorcycles and rifles were seized by the ISWAP faction. He added that the Boko Haram fighters were among those who attacked and killed eight farmers in Mafa communities recently.
In March, this year, over 300 members of Boko Haram lost their lives in a sustained weeklong reprisal by the ISWAP in Borno State. About 443 more Boko Haram terrorists and their family members, who survived the massive attacks, surrendered to troops.
Sources disclosed that as a result of the attacks, a total of 223 of the Boko Haram fighters surrendered to the troops of Sector MultiNational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Diffa and Gueskerou in the Republic of Niger between March 7 and 10, 2023.
Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency expert with knowledge of the activities of both groups in the Lake Chad, said: “Since February 27, 2023, Boko Haram had been fleeing their enclaves amidst deadly attacks targeted at the groups in Gaizuwa, otherwise known as Mantari, Gabchari, Kashimiri, Maimusari in Bama, Yale in Konduga and Magumeri, by their former allies now turned bitter adversary.
“In one of the attacks led by three notorious ISWAP Commanders, comprising Mallam Abubakar Maina, Qaed Malam Dahiru, Qaed Mallam Dahiru in Guzamala, over 200 Boko Haram militant jihadists, including their women and children were eliminated. The onslaught against the group continued on March 8, 2023, when more than 100 of them were killed in the fringes of Baga, Marte and Dikwa. This time, the terrorists targeted only the men, sparing their families.”
He added the Government of the Republic of Niger, through its Public Relations Information Directorate, had disclosed that the week was marked by displacement of several groups of families of terrorists leaving the Sambisa forest for Lake Chad on the Niger side.
The Director, Defence Media Operations of Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, placed the number of surrendered Boko Haram members after the attacks at 1,332.