The Nigerian Army said on Sunday that it rescued no fewer than 386 people, mostly women and children, from the Boko Haram insurgents’ stronghold, Sambisa forest in Borno State.
The acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Brig. Gen. AGL Haruna said the abductees were rescued during a just-concluded 10-day clearing operation in Sambisa.
According to him, some of the abductees had been in terrorists’ captivity for as long as 10 years before their rescue over the weekend.
Haruna, who spoke to journalists in the Konduga Local Government Area, explained that the exercise tagged “Operation Desert Sanity 111” was to clear Sambisa forest of the remnants of all categories of terrorists as well as provide some of them willing to surrender the opportunity to do so.
He said, “Our effort is to ensure that we clear the remnants of terrorists in the Sambisa forest and give those willing to surrender the opportunity to surrender.
The GOC, who addressed the troops on the message of the Chief of Army Staff, lauded their performance and professionalism exhibited during the operation and urged them to sustain the tempo.
Some of those rescued who spoke, said they have been in captivity for the past 10 years.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that troops from 21 Special Armoured Brigade, 26 Task Force Brigade, and 199 Special Forces participated in the operation.
