Boko Haram terrorists have attacked Nigerian troops in Damasak town of Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.

A top military source who spoke to SaharaReporters said the attack was carried out on a military base at about 7 pm on Saturday.

The insurgents launched the attack on the Special Forces Base from the Southern part of Damasak while exchanging fire with troops for about an hour.

The online newspaper had on June 14 detailed plans of an impending attack Nigerian soldiers in Damasak, Mallam Fatori, Magumeri, Gubio and Fuchimiram areas of Borno State.

According to the report, the Boko Haram terrorists who are planning the attacks were taking refuge in Fuchimiram village, 6 kilometres West of Kareto Village where they carried out a deadly attack on June 12, 2019.

The army has yet to confirm the development. </s> Troops of the Nigerian Army killed three Boko Haram terrorists when the group attempted to attack Mafa in Mafa local government area of Borno State on Monday, June 24, 2019.

In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, he disclosed that the terrorists had attempted to infiltrate Mafa for food and logistics when they were intercepted by troops of the 112 Task Force Battalion.

"During the failed attack, terrorists in 5 gun trucks and several motor cycles were seen," he disclosed.

Troops recovered two gun trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, as well as a motorcycle after the terrorists retreated.

"The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division and Commander Sector 1 Operation Lafiya Dole, Brigadier General Abdulmalik Bulama Biu had since visited the conflict location with reinforcement," Col. Musa disclosed.

He said aggressive clearance operations in recent days has seen troops record tremendous successes in the fight against terrorism and insurgency in the northeast.

Troops recently rescued 95 people being used as farm labourers by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno.

Since Boko Haram's insurgency escalated in 2009, it has killed around 30,000 people and displaced millions in the northeast region, with its operations also extending to border countries like Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Even though the powers of the Abubakar Shekau-led main faction of Boko Haram has been on the wane in the past couple of years, another faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has grown in influence and carried out several savage attacks on military bases since last year. </s> LAGOS. — Eighty-two schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist group have been released in exchange for the freedom of some Boko Haram suspects, the government said Saturday.

“President (Muhammadu) Buhari is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the Chibok girls have borne fruit with the release of 82 more girls today (Saturday) after months of patient negotiations.

“Our security agencies have taken back these abducted girls in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities,” said presidential spokesman Garba Shehu on Saturday. “The girls are due tomorrow (yesterday) in Abuja to be received by the president.

“The president expressed his deep gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international NGOs for the success of the operation.”

A government source told Xinhua on Saturday that at least 82 out of the more than 200 Chibok girls that were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 in Nigeria’s restive northeastern Borno State had been released.

The source said that the girls were released following negotiations between the extremist group and the Nigerian government. “Yes, 82 girls are freed and they are due to fly to Abuja from Banki town in Borno State,” the source said. “After lengthy negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these girls, in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities.”

AFP understands three Chadian nationals, allegedly senior commanders under Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, were handed over. — Xinhua/AFP/HR. </s> Boko Haram gunmen on Saturday killed 23 mourners in Borno state in Nigeria's restive northeast after they attended a funeral, local militia and residents said.

At about 10:30 GMT, the attackers on three motorbikes opened fire on a group of men as they walked back from a funeral in Nganzai district near the state capital Maiduguri, local militia leader Bunu Bukar Mustapha said.

"Our men recovered 23 dead bodies from the scene of the attack, which happened this morning," Mustapha said.

The men were returning to Badu Kuluwu from nearby Goni Abachari village where they had attended funeral prayers for a relative, said Mustapha.

A Nganzai district official confirmed both the incident and death toll.

"I received calls from Nganzai that Boko Haram killed 23 people near Badu Kuluwu this morning," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his own safety.

Local hunters and militia recovered the bodies after survivors returned to the village and alerted them, Nganzai resident Saleh Masida said.

In September last year, the group killed eight people and stole livestock in two villages in the area after residents tried to stop them from taking their animals.

Boko Haram and its Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-supported ISWAP splinter have intensified attacks on civilian and military targets in recent months.

Late Thursday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a camp for displaced people outside Maiduguri, killing two residents and looting food supplies after burning a nearby military base.

The decade-long conflict has spilled over into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, claiming about 27,000 lives and forcing more than two million people to flee their homes. </s> The Nigerian Army has denied media reports that it has lost over 50 soldiers to Boko Haram terrorists.

The Army said the report which it described as false was one of the many strategies of the Boko Haram terrorists to deceived unsuspected public from know the many successes being recorded by the military in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, reacting to the report in a telephone interview in Abuja, insisted that the military troops in the North East were intact, asking Nigerians not to fall prey to the terrorists’ antics.

Chukwu particularly pleaded with the mainstream media not to believe stories he noted the terrorists were planting in some social media platforms.

The Army spokesman, who told newsmen he was right in Maiduguri, Borno State, appealed to all Nigerians to stop taking the claim of terrorists serious.

“There’s no attack against the military troops and our troops are intact. We didn’t lose any troops talk of the number you mentioned to have been killed by the terrorists.

“In fact, as I’m talking to you now, I’m right in Maiduguri, Borno State heading somewhere with some of your colleagues in the state.

“There’s nothing like attack or killing of troops as being claimed. Where did they even get the story that the terrorists kill our men from?

Asked whether there was any attack launched against the troops by the terrorists of recent, he said:”No, the way you in the media are promoting Boko Haram is too much. I have been in Maiduguri since yesterday’s morning . I’m not even going to Abuja now. So there’s nothing like that.” </s> An Army commander and six soldiers are missing after two bases of the Nigerian military in Borno State came under Boko Haram attack on Saturday, with one soldier feared dead.

There was also a loss of “unquantifiable” combat equipment in the wake of the terrorists’ offensive.

The terrorists attacked troops of 192 Battalion deployed to Delwa village, along Maiduguri-Damboa Road in Konduga Local Government Area, and their colleagues attached to 242 Battalion in Marte Local Government Area towards Lake Chad, according to Army sources.

The two attacks appeared coordinated, as they were unleashed about the same time—6p.m. on Saturday.

Saturday’s incidents followed an earlier attack on May 22, on an Army base in Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State.

The Gubio attack was on the camp housing the Nigerian Army 5 Brigade and the 159 Task Force Battalion, and it left at least one soldier killed and three others injured.

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However, despite the attack suffered on May 22, the Army Chief, Tukur Buratai, insisted that Boko Haram had been defeated in a statement last Thursday, just two days before the latest attacks.

The terrorists, who attacked the 192 Battalion reportedly launched from Alagarno Forest in Damboa Local Government Area in four Armoured Personnel Carriers, APC, and 12 gun trucks.

Although the troops were initially dislodged, reinforcement from Maiduguri, about 30 kilometres away, helped them retake the base after the terrorists had withdrawn.

Despite retaking the base, one yet-to-be-named soldier was killed, while six others, also not named yet, became missing.

The terrorists burnt a T55 armoured tank, made away with two gun trucks, a canter truck, one APC, mortal gun and unquantifiable ammunition.

“Re-organisation of the camp is currently ongoing,” said a military source with knowledge of the development. </s> Boko Haram gunmen on Saturday killed 23 mourners in Borno state in Nigeria's restive northeast after they attended a funeral, local militia and residents said.

At around 1030 GMT, the attackers on three motorbikes opened fire on a group of men as they walked back from a funeral in Nganzai district near the state capital Maiduguri, local militia leader Bunu Bukar Mustapha said.

"Our men recovered 23 dead bodies from the scene of the attack, which happened this morning," Mustapha told AFP.

The men were returning to Badu Kuluwu from nearby Goni Abachari village where they had attended funeral prayers for a relative, Mustapha said.

A Nganzai district official confirmed both the incident and death toll.

"I received calls from Nganzai that Boko Haram killed 23 people near Badu Kuluwu this morning," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his own safety.

Local hunters and militia recovered the bodies after survivors returned to the village and alerted them, Nganzai resident Saleh Masida said. </s> More than 30,000 people have fled the northeast Nigerian town of Rann and across the border to Cameroon in recent days because of fears of renewed Boko Haram attacks, the UN, civilian militia and residents said on Tuesday.

The latest mass movement comes as the world body voiced renewed concern about the effect of the bloody conflict on civilians and launched a longer-term plan to help those made homeless by the fighting.

Rann, in northern Borno state, near the border with Cameroon, has been repeatedly attacked by Boko Haram, most recently on January 14, when the jihadists targeted a military base.

UN refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva that recent fighting in Borno had forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes.

"Nigerian refugees continue to arrive in very remote and impoverished communities in neighbouring countries," he added.

"All the population seems to be panicking and they are on the run as a preemptive measure to save their lives."

Humanitarian organisations working in Rann said the attack earlier this month forced some 9,000 people to flee into Cameroon.

But they were sent back, as Cameroon deployed troops to reinforce the town as part of the regional military response against the Islamist militants.

"It was a bit peaceful but as far as we understand now, that multinational taskforce has left," said Baloch, adding that refugees had told aid workers Boko Haram "promised to return".

Walid Abdallahi, who was among those who fled, said there was now "not a single resident in Rann" and that Boko Haram had been "in control" of the town since Monday.

"We all left the town as soon as the Cameroonian soldiers withdrew because we knew we were vulnerable to Boko Haram who would no doubt launch an attack," he told AFP.

Abadallahi said the remaining Nigerian soldiers also withdrew "because their number was too small to face Boko Haram when they attacked".

His account was supported by an aid worker who left Rann after the January 14 attack but remains in contact with those in the area, and a civilian militia source.

"There were over 35,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) in Rann and all of them have fled to Cameroon," the aid worker added.

The civilian militia source said Cameroonian soldiers withdrew on Sunday and Nigerian troops were now based in Ngala, nearly 40 kilometres (25 miles) away.

"The terrorists set fire to most houses in the town and have taken strategic positions in anticipation of military operations to push them out," he added.

News from Rann came as the UN in Abuja launched an appeal for $848 million (741 million euros) to fund projects in Borno and two other northeast states over the next three years.

An additional $135 million was required to help the 228,500 Nigerian refugees who have fled to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, it said.

Nigeria's government has said Boko Haram has been virtually defeated, despite persistent attacks against the military and civilians.

The UN said aid agencies' access to people in hard-to-reach areas was largely unchanged in the last year, indicating security conditions had not improved.

Some 260 aid workers have been forced to pull out of three local government areas in Borno in recent months because of fighting.

Many IDPs have had to move several times as a result of attacks and are unable to return home. An average of 4,500 people were displaced every week in 2018,it added.

"Civilians still bear the brunt of a conflict that has led to widespread forced displacement and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law," said the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon.

"New and protracted displacement, triggered by the conflict, continues to affect access to basic services and disrupts the livelihoods of millions of people." </s> According to the group, some statements recently attributed to Senator Ali Ndume, Senator Abubakar Kyari and other northern leaders were capable of escalating terrorism in the north eastern part of Nigeria.

CLC said that such statements could only have been inspired by the numerous benefits that their purveyors derive from any instability in the region

The group in a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting held in Kaduna, Kaduna State on Saturday observed that those in position of influence in Borno State benefit from the regional instability precipitated by Boko Haram as evidenced in the diversion of relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The communiqué jointly signed by Dr. Eugene Tarkema, National Chairman, Dr. Abel Awulu, and Dr. Fagbemi Kolawole, Secretary, called on the Nigerian government and the international community to clampdown on Boko Haram sponsors and financiers.

The communiqué obtained our reporter reads, “The tragedy of Boko Haram terror activities is being exploited by the political class in Borno state; and it is worrisome that highly placed persons in the state government and elders in the state are in on this unacceptable development.

“Recent statements credited to Senator Ali Ndume, Senator Abubakar Kyari and proxies as capable of escalating terrorism in the north east of Nigeria. It is clear that such statements could only have been inspired by the numerous benefits that their purveyors derive from any instability in the region.

“It has been proven that those in position of influence in Borno State benefit from the regional instability precipitated by Boko Haram as evidenced in the diversion of relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). There are suggestions that part of the proceeds from diverted materials are channeled into funding Boko Haram.

“Despite the victory against the insurgency by the Nigerian Military, Local Government Authorities in Borno State have refused to convey administrative procedures proceedings thereby diverting funds and sharing with State Government Officials in Maiduguri who had earlier handpicked and stationed them for the purpose.

“There is need for the Borno State Government to come out clearly to render full account to the people and in what what has happened to their resources in the most recent past. The anti-graft agencies own Nigerians answers to these questions for the world to know the nexus between Local Government funds and the operation of Boko Haram in Borno State.

“The initial inaction and eventual active support for Boko Haram members by elders and political leaders in the northeast is playing out in other regions – Biafra secessionists are getting such support in the southeast while the silence that equal acquiescent is bolstering militants in the south-south.

“We call on the country to note that these recent attacks in Borno state are not isolated events but part of a concerted efforts by Borno politicians to revive Boko Haram ahead of the 2019 General Elections. These politicians apparently have a control over the terrorists to an extent that they decide when to unleash them on the country or keep them subdued when it is desirable.

“Also, international relief and donor agencies must immediately stop routing funds through the Borno State Government but instead relate directly with IDPs since there is ample proof that relief resources are an incentive for state officials, who divert and covert them for themselves and for financing terrorists.”
Boko Haram terrorists exchange gunfire with Nigerian troops in the Nganzai local government area of Borno State.