According to authorities, Nigeria’s military and security forces have killed dozens of armed individuals in two different operations in the country’s northeast and northwest.
Mua’zu, the commissioner for internal affairs in Katsina state, reported on Thursday that security forces had killed at least 30 gunmen following armed attacks in the unrest-plagued northwest.
After hundreds of armed men stormed multiple villages on Wednesday, a combined police and military operation was initiated, Mua’zu stated in a statement.
He added that three police officers, two military, and a civilian were also slain.
“The intruders were effectively repelled by our valiant security forces. As they tried to flee, thirty of the offenders were killed by coordinated airstrikes, according to Mua’zu.
“To guarantee the safety of every citizen, we are putting forth endless effort with federal security agencies.
Between July 4 and 9, Nigerian troops, supported by local forces and air assistance, killed a number of Boko Haram and ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) members, the army posted on X.
Reuben Kovangiya, the army spokesperson for the military operations, said in a statement that the operations were conducted in the restive Borno state and its environs.
According to Kovangiya, “the close air support and determination of the troops of OPHK [Operation Hadin Kai] to ensure terrorists are put on the back foot, thereby creating a conducive environment for socioeconomic activities to thrive in the North East region,” is demonstrated by the fact that 24 insurgents were neutralized.
Since the 2000s, armed gangs and organizations like Boko Haram and ISWAP have attacked northeastern Nigeria.
The United Nations estimates that since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has killed about 35,000 civilians and displaced over two million people.
Meanwhile, banditry and criminal organizations are rampant in the central and northwest regions.
Gangs have terrorized the Katsina region for years by carrying out lethal raids, kidnappings, and burning homes after robbing them.
The gangs have conducted widespread kidnappings of school children and established camps in woods that border the northwest states of Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna, as well as the center of the country, Niger.
Source: Al Jazeera and other media outlets
