The military operation has left 17 people dead on the fifth day of a push in crushing the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast region of Nigeria with a death toll of 14 insurgents and three soldiers, while seven others sustained injuries.
The spokesperson for Defence Headquarters; Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, in a statement said the operation is continuing on; with patrols sent out to secure towns and villages.
He also revealed that the Special Forces have killed 14 insurgents in battles that left three soldiers dead and seven wounded.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, has convened President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive which urged members of Boko Haram to surrender their arms and embrace the amnesty option.
The Presidency stated that the amnesty option is still open as the Presidential committee set-up to work out modalities of granting amnesty to the sect members are still on the option of dialogue for a peaceful resolution.
In their biggest offense since the insurgency began in 2009, the Nigerian forces are trying to chase well-armed militants out of territory they control in remote semi-deserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
They are also pursuing Boko Haram in northeastern cities such as Maiduguri, Borno state, where the sect has cells.
More than 2,000 Nigerians living in border villages in Borno state are reported to have fled as a result of the ongoing military operations targeted at routing insurgents from the area under the emergency rule.
The fleeing villagers were said to have headed to the neighbouring Niger Republic.
“Most of the residents of border villages of Borno have fled to Niger. About 2,000 people from Abadan, Malam Fatori and other villages are now refugees in Difa, Niger Republic,” a top security officer told a national dailies.
The source said that the Joint Military Task Force was on the trail of members of the Boko Haram sect, who were dislodged from the Sambisa Game Reserve and other camps on Thursday in Borno State.
It was learnt that residents of Maiduguri and other communities far from the border, who did not want to be caught in the cross-fire had also fled to some neighbouring states, including Kano and Bauchi.
Brig-General Olukolade, could not confirm whether the Nigerian villagers had fled to Niger Republic.
“I will have to find out,” he said.
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