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Army Blocks Sambisa Forest Against Boko Haram

Tukur Buratai YusufNigeria Army has announced a total blockage of all entries to the notorious Sambisa Forest in Borno State against the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said today, Wednesday said that the ground troops had blocked movement of Boko Haram terrorists in and out of Sambisa forest.
Buratai, who was answering questions from newsmen shortly after monitoring troops’ deployment at Banki Junction in Borno State, said that the ongoing “Operation Crack Down” had been successful as the troops are making steady progress in dismantling the remaining Boko Haram hideouts in Sambisa.
“The troops are doing very well; they had some challenges in terms of encounters with the terrorists in the theatre but that is being tackled.
“The troops are forming a blocking force to prevent the terrorists from moving into Sambisa or coming out of the area.
“I am here to see the ground forces and how they are doing.
“So far so good, but there is tremendous operations going on presently inside the main Sambisa forest.”
Buratai said that he was at Banki to confirm the movement of troops and equipment and to observe the situation in the theatre.
Buratai said that the location of troops at Banki Junction was significant in the military operations to restrict the movement of the insurgents from outside the country through Cameroon or Chad.
“We were together with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Air Staff in Maiduguri where the theatre commander briefed us on the ongoing operation crack down.
“This Banki Junction is a major route that links the North to the South and is also bordering Cameroon; it is also a link to Chad Republic.
“It is a major route which the Boko Haram insurgents have been using to move between the Sambisa forest and the northern part of the country, up to the Lake Chad waters.
“So, it is an important location, which has tactical, strategic as well as operational significance to what we are doing in this region.”
The army chief said ground troops supported by Nigerian Air Force fighter jets would continue to hit the forest until the insurgents were eventually cleared. [myad]

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