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and children from the Sambisa Forest enclaves of Boko Haram
insurgents.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, who made
this known in a statement on Wednesday night, also said that some
commanders of the militant Islamist sect were killed during further
raids on the forest.
Special Forces had on Tuesday rescued 293 girls and women from the
forest in Borno State.
Tuesday's success had fuelled speculations that the girls, who are
undergoing health checks at the University of Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital, might be the Chiboks schoolgirls who were abducted by
insurgents from their hostel on April 14, 2014.
Although the Defence Headquarters which announced the freeing of the
293 girls and women, said it had yet to ascertain their identities,
the Borno State Government claimed that most of them were from
Bumsiri, Damboa Local Government Area.
Usman, in his statement, did not give the number of those freed on
Wednesday but firstclass newsline crew gathered that they were 160.
He said that a soldier and a woman were killed during the operation
that led to the destruction of five additional training camps and
facilities of the insurgents. Also, four soldiers and eight women were
injured.
The troops, according to Usman, destroyed four more training camps,
two Armoured Personnel Carriers, two Buffalo vehicles mounted with
anti-aircraft guns, a truck and several Toyota Hilux vans.
But the soldiers recovered one Anti-Aircraft Gun, one General Purpose
Machine Gun, one Rocket Propelled Grenade and several AK-47 rifles.
Usman said, "Recall that we promised to keep you abreast of troops'
progress in respect of Nigerian military's ongoing operations to rid
the country of terrorists and their enclaves.
"In line with that, I wish to inform you that in the evening of today
(Wednesday), troops of the 7 Division Nigerian Army also cleared
several terrorists strong points and training camps within Sambisa
Forest.
"The troops have also rescued additional women and children. They have
been evacuated to a safe zone for further processing.
"During the encounter, unfortunately we lost a soldier while four
others were wounded in action.
"The troops killed several Boko Haram field commanders and foot
soldiers and destroyed two APCs, two Buffalo vehicles mounted with
anti-aircraft guns, a truck and several Hilux vehicles.
"The gallant soldiers also recovered one Anti-Aircraft Gun, one
General Purpose Machine Gun, one Rocket Propelled Grenade and several
AK-47 rifles. Sadly, one woman died and eight other women sustained
gunshot wounds.
"So far, the troops have destroyed nine terrorist camps in the forest.''
He said that the camps destroyed were in addition to four others
destroyed by the military on Tuesday.
According to him, the camps destroyed are Wulari Bukar, Gangala,
Anguwar Bakwai and Jigide, Kotorima, Lagara Bello and Lagara Fulani.
Usaman said that the troops were poised to destroy all the remaining
terrorist camps and rescue other hostages in all terrorist enclaves.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade,
insisted during a news conference in Abuja on Thursday that the
identities of the women and girls rescued on Tuesday had yet to be
ascertained.
He stated however that some of the rescued ladies might be from
Bumsiri community in Damboa as claimed by the Borno State Government.
Olukolade said, "The true identity of some of the rescued women and
girls isyet to be ascertained. At the moment, what is uppermost and of
priority is their movement to a conducive place where they are now
undergoing thorough profiling to verify where they come from, how they
found themselves in the forest, etc.
"Additional number of persons is still being recovered from the
forest. Until such comprehensive profiling is done, nobody can confirm
whether they are among the Chibok girls or not.
"Whoever they may be, the important thing is that Nigerians held
captive under very severe and inhuman condition have been freed by our
gallant troops. The joy and sense of hope being expressed by many
Nigerians on hearing about the rescue operation are therefore
understandable.
"We would like to reassure them that the momentum of this operation
will be sustained until that Sambisa Forest is comprehensively cleaned
out and all Nigerians held captive within the bowels of the forest are
rescued. There is a great hope for the recovery of more hostages of
the terrorists."
Urging the Boko Haram fighters to surrender themselves, the DHQ
spokesman stressed that the military would not be deterred by the
mines planted in the forest and difficult terrain in the prosecution
of the campaign against them.
Olukolade also said that the military had captured over 13 terrorist
camps in the dreaded forest.
"Over 13 terrorists' camps including the notorious Tokumbere camp in
Sambisa Forest have been captured. Camps overran and destroyed by
troops include Wulari Bukar, Gangala, Anguwar Bakwai, Jigide,
Kotorima, Lagura Bello, Lagina Fulani, among others." he added
Just as news of the lastest rescue of captives spread, President
Goodluck Jonathan promised that he would do all within his powers to
ensure that all parts of the country still under the control of
terrorists were totally liberated before May 29.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati, quoted him(Jonathan) as making the promise while receiving a
delegation of Heads of Customs from the West and Central African
Region of the World Customs Organisation led by the Secretary-General
of the organisation, Kunio Mikuriya, in Abuja.
"We can now say two states are completely free from terrorist control,
while in the third state, it is only in one Local Government Area that
they are still present. That is in the Sambisa forest," the President
told his guests.
On his decision to concede victory to the President-elect before all
the results of the presidential elections were announced, Jonathan
said elections must be approached from a nationalistic point of view.
He said, "Our elections should be about where Nigeria is going. If
Nigeria is moving forward, it is for the good of all Nigerians. My
children and grandchildren will live and grow in this country and
contribute to it.
"I always tell my colleagues to leave office when their time is up. We
are trying to encourage African leaders not to remain in power as
kings until death.'
Firstclassnewsline.net
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