SEVENTEEN days
after 234 students of the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok,
Borno State, were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists and the public
outcry that have continued to greet the alleged uncoordinated approach
of the security agents to rescue them, a major military operation is set
to commence as four different battalions, a little more than a Brigade
of the Nigerian Army, have been mobilised. -
It was gathered
that the battalions that will storm Sambisa forest are taking positions
around all the access routes into the notorious forest.
Mobilisation
The battalions
comprised all formations of the Army, including those from Signals
Corps, Armoured Corps, Ordinance Corps, Intelligence Corps, Infantry
Corps, Artillery Corps, Military Police Corps and the Medical Corps.
Also, fighter
jets of the Nigerian Air Force and Police surveillance helicopters have
been mobilised and are waiting for the command to begin the joint
security operations for rescue efforts of the girls.
The battalions
are said to have been positioned in the North, South, East and West of
the Sambisa forest so that when the troops move in from all the angles,
there will be no escape route for the terrorists.
Owing to the
possibily of encountering bobby traps, land mines, ambush and other
unknown traps, it was gathered that Air Force fighter aircraft,
helicopter gunships and Police surveillance helicopters would carry out
round-the-clock missions.
Aircraft and
land equipment including air ambulances, vehicles with mobile medical
facilities and a considerable number of medical personnel, are said to
have been deployed for the operation to ensure that casualties, if any,
are quickly attended to when necessary.
Launching offensive
It was gathered
that since the forest shares borders with towns in Adamawa, Yobe, Borno
and Cameroon, the different battalions would each launch their
offensive from these locations.
Vanguard was
further told under condition of anonymity, that because of the high
caliber nature of the arms and explosives in the hands of the
terrorists, the Federal Government had made available to the security
forces night vision equipment.
In this
regards, specially trained counter terrorist units, anti bomb discovery
units, the K 9 Dog units of the Army and the Police, the landmines unit
of the army and other specialised units of other security agencies are
all involved in this operation.
Speaking on
insinuations that most of the girls may have been moved to Chad,
Cameroon or abroad by the terrorists, the security source said: “Let us
wait and see.
“All I can tell
you is that since the incident happened, the borders close to Sambisa
have been fortified and a lot of cordon and search operation has been
going on. How they would have moved the girls abroad will be a mystery.”
When Vanguard
expressed apprehension that a major military intervention involving air
bombardments will lead to killing of the girls, the source said: “It
doesn’t necessarily follow.
“On the
contrary, the terrorists are afraid. They will be fighting to save their
own lives. Many of them are cowards who cannot stand the army, that’s
why they look for soft targets.
SDK
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