File photo of Boko Haram terrorists
By SADIQ ABUBAKAR –
There is no doubt to say the least that the fierce clashes between the Nigerian military and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in Baga axis of Borno State in the northeast have continued to leave behind lots of casualties, including the recent killing of 25 soldiers and at least 40 insurgents, according to military sources.
The ISWAP fighters had launched a dawn attack on Monday against a base near Baga in the Lake Chad area, setting off fierce gun battles that killed 20 Nigerian and five Chadian troops, the sources said.
“The terrorists killed 20 Nigerian troops and five Chadian soldiers in the intense fight in which soldiers killed 47 of the terrorists,” a military source said.
The head of a local anti-terrorists group also confirmed that the military death toll and ISWAP losses stood at “more than 40.”
The sources said that the ISWP raid was repelled and the fleeing fighters were then met by a convoy of special forces bringing supplies from the regional capital Maiduguri.
“They ran into special forces who had been alerted by the troops in the base and more of the terrorists were killed in a brief encounter,” a second military officer said.
The death toll is significantly higher than had been reported earlier. On Monday, regional counter-insurgency Multinational Joint Task Force spokesperson Colonel Timothy Antigha said a soldier was killed and five were injured in a “surprise dawn attack” by ISWAP fighters near Baga, adding that 10 insurgents were killed.
The MNJTF, which comprises personnel from Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, launched Operation Yancin Tafki on February 21 to battle the insurgents. It has said the cross-border operation is aimed at “making islands and other settlements in Lake Chad untenable for Boko Haram Terrorists.”
Similarly, on Wednesday, this week, the Islamic State fighters claimed that ISWAP fighters clashed for several hours with soldiers at Mile 4, which is near Baga. It said more than than 15 soldiers were killed and others were wounded while the number of military casualties caused in recent insurgent attacks is unclear.
The Nigerian military seldom comments on the ongoing counter-insurgency operations, and tends to downplay the insurgents’ effectiveness, calling reports “fake news” and the work of “Boko Haram sympathizers.”
This week marks 10 years since the Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria began, and the assault near baga was just one of a number of reported attacks in Borno state that came on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the death in police custody of Boko Haram founder Muhammad Yusuf.
ISIS said ISWAP fighters attacked a Nigerian Army base in Benisheikh on Monday, claiming that around 25 soldiers were killed and others injured in clashes that lasted several hours.
It added that the insurgents seized weapons and ammunition, and burned the base in Benisheikh, which is around 70 km west of Maiduguri at the time, there were also reports of a Monday attack in Bama, around 70 km southeast of Maiduguri same day and period simultaneously.
Which made the spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari , Malam Garba Shehu on Tuesday evening commented again insisting that Boko Haram was defeated, blaming ongoing violence in the northeast on international jihadists exploiting porous borders with Sahel countries.
The relentless ISWAP attacks on the military around Baga axis which is a famous the
fishing Baga is on the shores of Lake Chad, around 160 km (100 miles) northeast of Borno state capital Maiduguri. It was observed that since July last year, ISWAP has intensified attacks on military targets, killing dozens of soldiers and overrunning bases, mainly in the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, Chad and Niger where it is the dominant insurgent group.
Similarly, in late December, 2018, it will be recalled that ISWAP fighters overran military and naval bases in and around Baga. Images released by Islamic State appeared to show large quantities of weapons, vehicles and other equipment captured during the fighting in and around Baga.
Where a base that housed MNJTF troops was recaptured weeks later, but Baga itself and a separate naval base on Lake Chad remain under ISWAP control, according to locals and security sources. This make the ISAWP fighters since then, to be repeatedly attacking MNJTF and Nigerian military formations in the area and its environs.
While in April, and May, 2019, two Chadian soldiers and at least 39 “Boko Haram” fighters were killed when ISWAP attacked the MNJTF in Cross Kauwa when ISIS released video featured extensive battle footage of attacks against military bases which appear to have been carried out between November and January, including attacks in Kareto, Arege and Baga in the Lake Chad area of Borno state.
More recently in early June, the ISWAP fighters attacked military bases south of Baga in Marte, Dikwa and Kirenowa axis where at least one Chadian soldier was killed and 12 other soldiers were injured during an MNJTF operation against ISWAP in the Baga area, the Nigerian Army said, adding that 42 “terrorists” were “neutralized while several others were wounded” while ISIS claimed “at least 15” soldiers were killed and others injured in a suicide car bomb attack.
The 10 years long cross-border insurgency at the Lake Chad Basin region was predominated by the jihadists group known as Boko Haram terrorists which began its bloody insurgency in the northeastern part of the country in 2009.
It is also sad that it has since spread into the neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, Republics which prompted a regional military response through the MNJTF where it was estimated by the UN that more than 27,000 people have been killed and two million others displaced, sparking a dire humanitarian crisis in the region. The U.S. assesses that Boko Haram and ISWAP have been responsible for over 35,000 deaths since 2011.
It is also in history that, Boko Haram split into two factions in mid-2016. One, led by long-time leader Abubakar Shekau, is notorious for suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings of civilians. Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in March 2015, but ISIS central only gives formal backing to the other faction, which it calls Islamic State West Africa Province.
While the ISWAP faction, which largely focuses on attacking military and government targets, was led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, but in March, audio recordings revealed that ISIS appointed Abu Abdullah Idris bin Umar, also known as Ibn Umar al-Barnawi, as leader. Despite releasing several videos featuring ISWAP since, ISIS has not yet made a public statement confirming the change.