Sambisa Forest battle: The inside story

Early in their entry into Sambisa Forest, troops engaged Boko Haram in a fierce battle, the aftermath of which would see them kill many insurgents, destroy several of their camps and rescue hundreds of women and girls. The forest became notorious after the globally-condemned kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from the sleepy town of Chibok, […]

Early in their entry into Sambisa Forest, troops engaged Boko Haram in a fierce battle, the aftermath of which would see them kill many insurgents, destroy several of their camps and rescue hundreds of women and girls. The forest became notorious after the globally-condemned kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from the sleepy town of Chibok, in Borno State in April 2014. It is widely believed that the kidnapped schoolgirls are held in camps scattered in the forest, so when the earlier-mentioned girls were rescued, it was expected that they would be among them. Many Nigerians were disappointed when it turned out otherwise.
A larger area of the now-infamous Sambisa Forest is covered by Nigerian troops who continue to move further in, supported by air attacks when required. A top military source revealed to Daily Trust, on condition of anonymity, that there are many troops currently scouring the forest and taking on the insurgents. “I can’t reveal an exact number for security reasons, but we’re there significantly and we’re recording tremendous success,” he said, adding that there is a presence of Special Forces personnel in additional to regular, battle-hardened troops.
Military and counter-insurgency spokesmen have said they have information indicating at least some of the Chibok girls are being held in the Forest.
Some of the girls and women were so transformed by their captivity that they opened fire on their rescuers, and experts said they would need intensive psychological treatment. An intelligence officer who was present during the rescue said Boko Haram used some of the women as armed human shields, a first line of defense who opened fire as the troops approached. But the soldiers managed to subdue the women and round them up.
Another reliable source told Daily Trust that while the Nigerian troops have recorded sizeable casualties – deaths and injuries – they continue to strike at the insurgents and dealing severely with them. “They’re still very many in the forest, but we’ve been killing quite a lot of them in battle,” he said, adding that many camps have been discovered and subsequently destroyed. “There’s a particular camp, deep in the Sambisa, which is so large it could be termed a village,” he said. “But we cleared it and destroyed their hardware while a few scampered away.”
Since the Nigerian troops invaded the notorious forest, they have reportedly rescued over 500 females, some through the Kawuri and Konduga end of Sambisa. Notably, the sustained operations are spearheaded by the Air Force utilising tactical aerial bombardments and guided recon, with the main objective of decimating and clearing the terrorists from the forest. Several Boko Haram field commanders and foot soldiers have lost their lives with some Armoured Personnel Carriers, vehicles mounted with Anti-Aircraft guns and several trucks also destroyed by troops.
On a daily basis, our source said, Nigerian troops engage the terrorists in fierce gun battles. “But it is obvious that the [insurgents’] resolve is weak and there are major cracks in their operations which owe to our recent successes,” he said.
But he revealed that logistics continue to be a problem. “Sometimes we go four to five days without food and water is so scarce that when we get it, it’s almost unbelievable the way we scramble for a mere sip,” he said. “Fighting bloodthirsty madmen on an empty stomach isn’t the best way to win a war,” he said. “The men are willing and able, with a resolve that’s stronger than ever but we need the necessary support,” he added.
The source also expressed worry over the medical aspect of the operation in Sambisa Forest, as doctors and other medical personnel tend to injured troops are most often late. “I remember an attack after which we were victorious but with quite a number of wounded and we returned to our bivouac (temporary base) and no medics showed up for almost 48 hours,” he said. “There’s a particular soldier who had several bullet wounds and was bleeding, of course he was in pain, and we waited for what seemed like an eternity before help came.”
Troops sustain injuries in battle and the standard practice is to have medics attached to them, or in the least be given strong painkillers to ease their suffering before proper medical attention comes, said the source.
The issue of weapons is also a thorny one, as a Special Forces source told Daily Trust that with superior hardware, the insurgents would be history by now. “But we’re using similar class of weapons,” he said.
Foreign specialists, erroneously called ‘mercenaries’, are also part of the push into Sambisa Forest and while they participate in strategy, they are not active in the actual fighting according to our sources. “Even when we’re moving wounded or dead soldiers, they don’t lift a finger,” he said.
Defense Headquarters Spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, said that the troops would continue the Sambisa Forest operations, “Until all terrorists enclaves are cleared.”
“I’m confident whichever way this goes, that Boko Haram’s days are numbered,” said a high-ranking military officer in Maiduguri. “We have extremely dedicated troops, and in the end that’s what matters most,” he said.