Chad: Army kills 1,000 Boko Haram fighters

The Chadian army neutralized about 1,000 Boko Haram fighters and lost 52 of its own soldiers in an operation launched 10 days ago.

The operation codenamed “Operation Wrath of Bomo,” was launched after terrorists dealt the heaviest blow to the Chadian military after an assault killed over 90 soldiers.

The offensive took place at Kelkoua bank and Magumeri where the army destroyed several Boko Haram bunkers, recovered cache of arms and arrested a top Boko Haram commander.

According to the army’s spokesman Azem Bermadoua “our men occupied two Boko Haram island bases and have also deployed on the Lake Chad banks of Niger and Nigeria. They will keep their positions until the arrival of these countries’ troops.”

He said the operation was completed and 196 Chadian soldiers had been wounded.

A video making the rounds on Twitter since last week captures President Idriss Deby disclosing that Boko Haram’s factional leader, Abubakar Shekau, had narrowly escaped in the town of Dikoa. He goes on to advise Shekau to surrender or be killed inside his Dikoa hideout.

“Abubakar Shekau was lucky, he was at Dikoa during the attack. He fled from Dikoa but we know where he is,” the president stressed during a state broadcast.

Boko Haram’s 11-year-old campaign has claimed tens of thousands of lives in northeast Nigeria and driven nearly two million people from their homes.