The Nigerian military operation in Baga has drawn very severe criticism from many quarters for the extent of brutality unleashed in that town in the fight against terrorism. The "Baga massacre" as it is now generally described was supposed to be a targeted operation.
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According to Nigerian military sources, the operation itself was a tri-national action comprising of Nigerien, Chadian, and the Nigerian Defense Forces, to root out Boko Haram terrorists who had massed in this area by the Lake Chad.
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The Nigerian Joint Task Force on Terrorism has been engaged in fierce battles with the Boko Haram which has basically adopted guerilla tactics; attacking and sliding back into the shadows, mixing with civilian populations in safe houses that seem to traverse the entire old Kanem Bornu axis where the Islamic movement seems to have established its most serious operational activities.
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According to Military Spokesman, Brigadier Chris Olukolade, two battalions of the Joint Task Force had massed following intelligence that established serious Boko Haram activity in Baga, and the engagement was fierce. By the end of the operation most of Baga lay in ruins with the Red Cross reporting about 185 dead civilians in what has been described as a massacre.