Nigeria: Army Rescues 85 People

The rescue operation took place last weekend in the Lake Chad Region.

The Nigerian army in operations on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5, 2016 in the Lake Chad region, retook some villages that had hitherto been controlled by the terrorist group Boko Haram and also rescued 85 people from the terrorists, including women and children, news agencies reported.  Army spokesman, Sani Usman said in a statement that nearly 40 Boko Haram militants were killed in other operations.

The weekend witnessed a series of fighting between Boko Haram militants and government forces particularly in Borno State in the north east of the country. Sani Usman said 37 Boko Haram fighters were killed in another operation in four villages in the south of Borno State. He added that a local vigilante died and five soldiers were wounded during the operation. In an other operation, he said, five insurgents and a soldier were killed and added that weapons were also recovered from them.

Reports say besides the army-launched operations, Boko Haram gunmen arrived in Akwada, 10 km from Chibok  late Saturday and torched homes after looting food supplies. A local resident, Bitrus John told news agencies that “Boko Haram gunmen attacked the village around 7:30 p.m. They fired indiscriminately and hurled explosives. They killed two soldiers and injured another one in gunfight.” Another resident who witnessed the attack, Bulus Samson said, "...