Nigerian Forces Invade Sambisa Forest, The Last Known Stronghold Of Boko Haram

[HuffingtonPost]

BAUCHI, Nigeria, April 22 (Reuters) - Nigerian forces backed  by warplanes invaded Islamist group Boko Haram's last known  stronghold, the Sambisa forest, on Wednesday, in an effort to  finally defeat their six-year-old insurgency, two military  sources said.                

Armies from Nigeria and neighbors Chad, Niger and Cameroon  have in the past two months launched a concerted push to try to  crush the insurgents, who have killed thousands and kidnapped  hundreds in their battle to establish an Islamic state.                

The Sambisa forest in northeast Nigeria is about 100 km (60  miles) from the village of Chibok from where Boko Haram abducted  more than 200 secondary school girls a year ago. Intelligence  officials had believed that this was where they were being held,  although U.S. reconnaissance drones failed to find them.                

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available  for comment.                

An official in the Chadian army said allied Chadian and  Cameroonian troops were ready to attack Sambisa, which lies on  the Cameroon border, from the other side and would move in soon.                

The militants controlled an area the size of Belgium at the  start of the year, but have since lost much of that ground.                

Yet they remain a deadly threat to civilians, as illustrated  on Friday when they slit the throats of 12 people in northeast  Nigeria as the army was trying to evacuate the area around the  former Boko Haram headquarters of Gwoza.                

Failure to crush Boko Haram or protect civilians was one  reason President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election on March 28  to Muhammadu Buhari, who has pledged to spare no effort in  battling the militants after he is sworn in on May 29.                

Buhari also said he would do everything possible to rescue  the Chibok girls, but could not promise to find them.     (Reporting by Ardo Abdallah; Additional reporting by Madjiasra  Nako in N'Djamena; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Robin  Pomeroy) -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Source: HuffingtonPost