Army battle to retake gwoza as Boko Haram kills 20, kidnap women

Nigerian troops have massed around Gwoza to
retake the town from members of the Islamist
group, Boko Haram, military sources have
disclosed. The battle for control of Gwoza rages
as reports emerged that Boko Haram
insurgents yesterday killed 20 people in Doro
Baga in Kukawa local government area of
Borno State. The residents of the embattled
village also disclosed that the militants
kidnapped several women in an early morning
raid. Continue...
One military source in Abuja told
SaharaReporters that the soldiers on the
mission to recapture the town were drafted
from Maiduguri and Mubi in Adamawa State.
The officer added that special Army and Air
Force units had been pounding Boko Haram
positions since yesterday.
“Over 1000 soldiers are involved in this
operation to take Gwoza back from Boko
Haram,” said the officer, adding that the troop
commanders were confident of dislodging the
insurgents in a matter of hours or days.
A resident of Bama, which is 35 miles from
Gwoza, told SaharaReporters that he had
observed a large contingent of troops moving
towards Gwoza in the last 24 hours. He also
stated that he had heard gunfire overnight.
Boko Haram insurgents overran Gwoza last
week, killing at least 100 residents, including
the wife of the town’s emir, his brother, and
the chief Imam of Gwoza.
Shortly after taking over Gwoza, Boko Haram
militants repelled a column of soldiers that
came from Bama to chase them away, inflicting
a significant casualty on the troops. Two days
later, a group of soldiers from the 234
Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Agu had to
abandon Gwoza when Boko Haram fighters
overwhelmed them. In that battle, the Islamist
militants captured one military tank and its
driver. They also burnt two other tanks.
Some of the soldiers who spoke anonymously
to SaharaReporters said the lack of
communication equipment inside the tanks was
responsible for the costly tactical errors in the
earlier Gwoza operation. “The front tank
suddenly turned back when its weaponry
malfunctioned,” said one soldier. He added
that, unable to figure out the reason for the
sudden turn around, the troops took to their
heels instead of positioning the three other
tanks behind to engage the militants.
Officials at Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters in
Abuja have declined to speak officially about
the latest battle, but a military source in Abuja
anonymously confirmed that the military had
started waging a wide range of operational
activities aimed at driving Boko Haram militants
out of Gwoza.
Culled from Sahara Reporters