Topic: Military claims to have Retaking Bama Town and is stopping Boko Haram advance  (Read 1742 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Nigeria's military has recaptured the flashpoint town of Bama in northeast Borno state from Boko Haram and blocked the Islamist militants' advance towards the state capital Maiduguri, a senior official said on Monday.

He said government forces are also fighting a southwards push into neighbouring Adamawa state by the group, which has recently departed from its usual hit-and-run tactics and started to seize towns and territory.

The government source, who asked not to be named, said Boko Haram fighters had been driven from Bama, 70 km (45 miles) southeast of Maiduguri. Government warplanes have bombed and strafed the militants after they stormed Bama last week.

"Bama has been recaptured by the soldiers and I can confirm to you Maiduguri is safe," the official in Abuja told Reuters.

A market trader from Bama, Babagana Modu, also confirmed that soldiers were in control of the town, as government planes struck at Boko Haram positions in the surrounding area.

Thousands of civilians have fled the recent offensive by the Sunni jihadist movement, which has killed thousands in its five-year-old insurgency in the northeast of Africa's No. 1 oil producer.

It is now believed to be trying to mimic the example of Islamic State (IS), which has announced the creation of its own caliphate covering parts of Syria and Iraq.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0H31E420140908

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
0 Replies
2077 Views
Last post August 29, 2013, 09:30:32 AM
by dayod247
0 Replies
2608 Views
Last post December 13, 2013, 05:34:08 AM
by flukky01
0 Replies
1839 Views
Last post September 13, 2014, 07:39:07 PM
by flukky01
0 Replies
2190 Views
Last post January 26, 2015, 11:20:37 AM
by olutee
0 Replies
1127 Views
Last post January 30, 2015, 01:00:16 PM
by flukky-2
0 Replies
2030 Views
Last post June 04, 2015, 01:00:15 PM
by flukky-1
0 Replies
1403 Views
Last post December 04, 2015, 07:01:30 AM
by sahara
0 Replies
872 Views
Last post July 16, 2018, 01:12:18 AM
by sahara
0 Replies
677 Views
Last post September 17, 2018, 01:02:21 AM
by sahara
0 Replies
518 Views
Last post January 15, 2021, 01:00:19 AM
by sahara