A
fierce gunfight launched against the fundamentalist Islamist group,
Boko Haram, by Camerounian soldiers has led to the killing of no
fewer than 180 insurgents and two gendarmes around a Nigerian border
with Cameroun.
It was gathered that during the battle
which took place on Tuesday evening, many of the wounded insurgents
were also arrested.
About 200 rifles, 70 machine guns and
heavy military hardware were said to have been recovered from the
insurgents by the soldiers.
A reliable military source confirmed the
development to our correspondent shortly after the the Nigerian Army
in Kano State disclosed that it had foiled a plot to bomb Kano during
the forthcoming Sallah festival by uncovering a bomb factory in
Gezawa Local Government Area.
It was gathered that the Camerounian
authorities directed the soldiers to launch the attack against the
Nigerian gunmen, who had earlier on Tuesday, ambushed and killed two
gendarmes on patrol in the border community.
Our source said the soldiers, while
pursuing the insurgents, sent a signal to their Nigerian
counterparts, to be on the alert to avoid the escape of the fleeing
insurgents.
According to the source, the number of
those killed, the arrests and the recovered arms indicated that
many Boko Haram members, who were forced out of Nigeria through
military operations, had already “settled comfortably” in Cameroun.
He said, “The Camerounian troops have
been involved in a serious confrontation with the insurgents. They have
killed over 180 of them.
“Almost 200 rifles and 70 machine guns were recovered from them by Camerounian soldiers.
“What led to this operation was that
the insurgents killed two gendarmes on patrol around the border with
Nigeria on Tuesday. I think this angered them to order a comprehensive
raid of the hideouts of the insurgents.
“You can see from the casualty figure
and the level of seizures that they were already comfortable in that
part of Cameroun until this incident.
“Ironically, the Camerounians who had
been reluctant in spite of complaints by Nigeria at the diplomatic level
are the ones now reaching out to us to ensure that the fleeing
insurgents are not allowed to escape. So, I can tell you that the heat
is on them.”
It was also gathered that Nigerien
soldiers in the Multinational Joint Task Force killed an unspecified
number of Boko Haram members on some island communities near Lake
Chad on Sunday.
Investigations revealed that the
Nigerien component of the MNJTF went after the insurgents on learning
of the killing of one of them.
Our source said the intensified
military action against the insurgents had made the nation’s northern
border rather too hot for them.
When our correspondent contacted the
Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen Chris Olukolade, he said,
“Our neighbouring countries, either through the instrumentality of the
Multi National Joint Task Force or through their security instruments,
are involved in operations to complement what we are doing against
terrorism.
“I am aware that the MNJTF and Nigerian
security agencies are combing everywhere for any strange movement in
our territory,” Olukolade said.
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