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The Nigerian military has commenced an operation in the dreaded Sambisa Forest to flush out members of the Boko Haram insurgents.
The Sambisa forest is widely speculated to be host to some of the training camps and facilities of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East.
It was learnt that the military high command decided to carry out intensified operation in the vast forest in bid to achieve the task of making the North East safe for the elections.
It was gathered that Nigerian Air Force pilots started the raid on the forest on Monday and simultaneous surveillance activities and raids are on-going.
The source said that a massive ground operation would follow the aerial operations over the Sambisa.
The source did not give details of the on-going operation.
“The military has started the operation in the Sambisa Forest; the operation started on Monday.
“For now there is no specific cases of arrest, we don’t have that information now. The Air Force has been operating in the area since Monday. It is after that that the ground troops who are on red alert would move in.
“Also, a source close to a security office strategic to the operations of the Federal Government said on Wednesday that a lot of activities were going on simultaneously in the Sambisa area and other parts of the North East.” The source said
It was said that the military had achieved a reduction in the number of local government areas under the control of the Boko Haram in the North East.
It was gathered that the military authorities are combing the Sambisa Forest because of intelligence reports that some of the insurgents who were dislodged from some of the communities were withdrawing into the forest.
Our correspondent could not get the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, to comment on the invasion of the Sambisa forest as the calls to his mobile telephone did not connect.
