Chadian army crossed into Nigeria today as part of a joint multinational offensive against Boko Haram. This development comes after the Chadian air force bombed Boko Haram positions in Gamboru yesterday. Chadian infantry and mechanized divisions have just crossed the sole bridge linking Fotokol (a Cameroon border town) to Gamboru (a Nigerian town). This indicates that the Government of Cameroon has allowed Chadian soldiers to transit into Nigeria through Cameroonian territory.
The Chadian aerial offensive facilitated the retaking of Gamboru by Nigerian ground troops. It is worthy to note that the Chadian air force went into the offensive before the Nigerian troops were mobilized to conduct a ground offensive. Intelligence sources also indicate that troops from Niger have been mobilized for a similar offensive against the terror group.
Nigeria retakes five towns.
The Nigerian defense establishment has confirmed that the Nigerian military have retaken five towns located in Borno State from the Islamist terror organization. The towns of Gamboru, Malumfatori, Marte, Mafa and Abadam were liberated yesterday after a joint military operation by both Chadian and Nigerian forces to oust Boko Haram terrorists from the strategic territories they occupy.
The jihadist insurgency in North-East Nigeria has threatened to destabilize regional peace besides creating another expansive terror outpost in West Africa – the other terror outpost is in Northern Mali where AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) has affiliated itself with local rebels and ethno-nationalists to fight the Malian government.
SIS advices the regional governments and related stakeholders to contain the Boko Haram insurgency before it evolves into a regional insurrection.
