Fierce clashes between a regional force and IS-affiliated fighters in northeast Nigeria left 25 soldiers and at least 40 jihadists dead, two military sources and a militia leader said yesterday.
Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province group launched a dawn attack on Monday against a base near the town of Baga on Lake Chad, setting off fierce gun battles that killed 20 Nigerian and five Chadian troops, the sources said.
“The terrorists killed 20 Nigerian troops and five Chadian soldiers in the intense fight in which soldiers killed 47 of the terrorists,” a military officer told AFP.
The head of a local anti-jihadist militia confirmed the military death toll and put ISWAP losses at “more than 40”.
In a statement on Monday, the Multinational Joint Task Force said 10 jihadists and a soldier were killed at the base while five troops were injured.
The MNJTF is a five-nation anti-military force headquartered in the Cha dian capital N’djamena, comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin set up to fight jihadists in the Lake Chad region.
The military is known to downplay its losses in the fight against the jihadists.
The sources said that the jihadist raid on the base was repelled and the fleeing fighters were then met by a convoy of Special Forces bringing supplies from the regional capital Maiduguri.
“They ran into Special Forces who had been alerted by the troops in the base and more of the terrorists were killed in a brief encounter,” a second military officer said.
ISWAP on Wednesday claimed that it had killed 15 soldiers in clashes near Baga.
The MNJTF base located four miles from Baga has been repeatedly attacked since 2014.
In December last year, ISWAP seized Baga and the base in an offensive that left several soldiers and militia fighters dead.
Although the MNJTF base was reclaimed weeks later, Baga and a separate naval base on Lake Chad remain under ISWAP control, according to locals and security sources.
The decade-long jihadist campaign of violence has killed some 27,000 people, displaced more than two million, and spilt into neighbouring countries.
ISWAP broke away from the main Boko Haram jihadist group in 2016 due to ideological differences.
Meanwhile, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, has said that 130,000 people have also been newly displaced from their homes, as the insurgency took a new dimension with Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) emerging to supplant the Boko Haram, in lethal attacks.
“Rising insecurity in recent months has pushed over 130,000 newly displaced people on a long trudge. Arriving en masse to displaced camps, they are looking upon us for aid and protection,” a statement signed by Kallon said.
Boko Haram, whose agenda is to maintain a virtual caliphate in Nigeria, had also spread its tentacles to neighbouring countries including Chad, Niger, and northern Cameroon.
The UN office in Abuja expressed the humanitarian community’s willingness to assist in abating the crisis while organizing on Wednesday a remembrance of 10 years of the security crisis in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe — the three most-affected north-eastern states in Nigeria.
Humanitarian aid workers, school boys and girls, women, and security operatives, among others, have either been killed or abducted by Boko Haram during the decade of violence.
The Nigerian government has consistently declared winning the war against the Boko Haram militants, despite growing concerns by citizens.
Over 27,000 people were killed since the outbreak of Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria in 2009, according to data supplied by the United Nations (UN).
On Tuesday, a presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, had maintained that the group’s agenda had been largely defeated by government forces.
However, at least 70 people were killed last weekend in an attack by Boko Haram on three villages in Borno.
Meanwhile, the United Nations, international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and representatives of the Federal Government, yesterday morning at the UN House in Abuja, met to mark the tenth year of the Boko Haram crisis in the North-East.
In attendance were Governor of Yobe, Mai Mala Buni, Chairman of the North East Development Commission, Paul Tarfa, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja, among others.
The humanitarian community emphasised the immense humanitarian needs caused by the crisis and the necessity to continue scaling up life-saving assistance.
They reiterated their commitment to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to work together to help people not only survive but also rebuild their lives and their communities.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, stressed that, “The crisis that started ten years ago is still far from over.
“We are here today to remember those who have lost their lives in the conflict, and to remind of those still struggling to survive and rebuild their lives.
“Ten years on, it is not the time for us to spare any effort. In this very critical period, we must collectively redouble efforts, with support at all levels – locally, nationally and internationally.”
Over the last decade, the conflict has claimed the lives of some 27,000 civilians and devastated entire communities, villages and towns across the three most-affected states.
“We have to pay attention to the needs and rights of people, especially those of women and children, and support local organisations to play a more visible role in the response.
President of the Nigeria NGO Network on Humanitarian Development Initiative (NINGONET), Ms. Josephine Habba, said, “The protracted crisis in the north-east is of matter to the entire country. We don’t want this crisis to last another 10 years”.
Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis remains among one of the most severe in the world with 7.1 million people in need of life-saving assistance and 1.8 million people uprooted from their homes – the vast majority of them women and children.
In the meantime, fierce clashes between a regional force and IS-affiliated fighters in North-East Nigeria have left 25 soldiers and, at least, 40 jihadists dead, two military sources and a militia leader said, yesterday.
The sources said that fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group had launched a dawn attack on Monday against a base near the town of Baga on Lake Chad, setting off fierce gun battles that killed 20 Nigerian and five Chadian troops, the sources said.
“The terrorists killed 20 Nigerian troops and five Chadian soldiers in the intense fight in which soldiers killed 47 of the terrorists,” a military officer told AFP.
The head of a local anti-jihadist militia confirmed the military death toll and put ISWAP losses at “more than 40”.
In a statement on Monday, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) said 10 jihadists and a soldier were killed at the base while five troops were injured.
The MNJTF is a five-nation anti-military force headquartered in the Chadian capital N’djamena, comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin set up to fight jihadists in the Lake Chad region.
The military is known to downplay its losses in the fight against the jihadists.
The sources said that the jihadist raid on the base was repelled and the fleeing fighters were then met by a convoy of special forces bringing supplies from the regional capital Maiduguri.
“They ran into special forces, who had been alerted by the troops in the base and more of the terrorists were killed in a brief encounter,” a second military officer said.
ISWAP on Wednesday claimed that it had killed 15 soldiers in clashes near Baga.
The MNJTF base located four miles from Baga has been repeatedly attacked since 2014.
In December last year, ISWAP seized Baga and the base in an offensive that left several soldiers and militia fighters dead.
Although the MNJTF base was reclaimed weeks later, Baga and a separate naval base on Lake Chad remain under ISWAP control, according to locals and security sources.
The decade-long jihadist campaign of violence has killed some 27,000 people, displaced more than two million, and spilt into neighbouring countries.
ISWAP broke away from the main Boko Haram jihadist group in 2016 due to ideological differences.
Also, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, has warned officers and men of the Army that it is non-negotiable for military professionals to be loyal to the sitting President and the Nigerian Constitution.
Buratai stated this while declaring open the fifth edition of a three-day procurement seminar for commandants, bursars and administrative officers of command security schools, held in Abuja with the theme, ‘Enhancing the Capacity of Personnel for Efficient Procurement and Financial Management in Command Secondary Schools’.
He urged officers to remain non-political, take right actions and show commitment to work.
“We need to remain absolutely loyal to Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is a non-negotiable part of our profession.
“Commanders at all levels must continue to provide requisite leadership and ensure that their personnel are continually reminded of the need to be apolitical and continue to uphold the tenets of military professionalism,” Buratai said.
The COAS had earlier spoken on the establishment of the schools with special interventions and renovation of classrooms, provisions of ICT centres as well as the vehicles to meet trainings and operational requirements.
“We shall continue to look inward in upgrading our schools and collaborate with the relevant stakeholders towards their effective development. I will want to mention, however, that the maintenance of facilities and equipment in our schools rest really on those saddled with the responsibility to administer the schools at any given time” he said.
“This important duty requires us all to be alert at all times and to be prudent. It is a challenge to us all and mark of responsibilities, and ensures accountability which requires a change in attitude from all personnel.
The seminar was the fifth of the series which has continued to provide the avenue to imbue participants with the requisite knowledge in procurement procedures and ethics.