Over 100 Nigerian soldiers killed in militant attacks
Armed groups have killed more than 100 soldiers and captured a huge stock of weapons in clashes in northeast Nigeria since December 26, a report by a group of aid agencies said on Friday.
Attacks had intensified over the past few weeks and forced thousands of people to flee to safer areas in Nigeria and over the border to neighboring Chad, the report said.
The surge has occurred in the run-up to an election on February 16 in which President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term, turning security into a campaign issue.
The attacks have mostly been carried out by a Takfiri-allied faction of militant group Boko Haram.
Nigerian defense ministry and military spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests by Reuters for comment.
The report by the Global Protection Cluster in Chad, a group of aid agencies led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: "Raids against the Nigerian army have killed more than 100 Nigerian soldiers. According to the information available, the armed groups captured a huge stock of weapons."
The report said attacks in the Baga-Kawa area of northeast Nigeria on December 26 caused more than 6,357 people to flee into Chad and some 20,000 others to flee to safety within Nigeria.
Last month, a Daesh-related group, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, seized the town of Baga, where a multi-national force fighting the militants is based. Troops later regained Baga.
(Source: Reuters)
At least 13 killed in Nigeria protests against economic crisis
Police clash with Nigerians protesting against economic hardship
Nigeria school collapse kills at least 22 students, dozens injured
Houthi: Yemen will continue strikes on Israel no matter what
Israel makes deepened incursion into Lebanon despite truce
IRGC intelligence forces capture agent linked to foreign espionage service
VIDEO | Palestinians in Yarmouk Camp cling to hope and determination
Israel preparing to stay in southern Lebanon after ceasefire: Report
Israeli pressure on Hamas ‘hardly helped’; swap deal necessary: Ex-Mossad chief
Far-right Israeli minister Ben-Gvir again storms al-Aqsa Mosque
Iran: Israel’s attack on journalists’ vehicle in Gaza amounts to ‘war crime’
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
