Nigerian troops encounter landmines in forest stronghold of Boko Haram

Ground troops sent in after aerial bombardment as military chiefs say they hope to find out what happened to the Chibok schoolgirls

Nigeria sent in ground troops on Thursday to clear a vast forest that is one of militant group Boko Haram's last strongholds, but soldiers were forced to retreat after discovering the area was heavily-mined.

The Sambisa forest was a game reserve in colonial times and is where some of the 200 schoolgirls abducted from the nearby village of Chibok were last seen.

Nigeria's army chief said last week recapturing the forest is key to finding out where the girls are now, a year after they were captured.

The forest, which sits mainly in northeastern Borno province near the border with Cameroon, is the biggest territory the army has attempted to take back so far after launching a renewed and largely successful drive to clamp down on Boko Haram, which means Western education is sin, before elections last month.

Aerial bombardments began several weeks ago but have reportedly been hampered by bad weather. This week, ground troops were sent in but also encountered problems.

A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a pro-government vigilante group, confirmed that five of its members had been killed along with two government soldiers. Other reports said one soldier and three vigilantes were killed.

A CJTF member and a security source told Reuters the deaths had prompted a partial withdrawal of troops to the nearby town of Bama.

The Gwazo terrain after the flushing out of Boko Haram Islamic militants (EPA)

"They had been on the road but that made them vulnerable, so they moved to the bush but there are mines planted there (too)," one soldier was quoted as saying.

Another fighter suggested Boko Haram still had a strong presence in the forest. "Boko Haram are in large numbers in Sambisa," he said. "All their fighters who were pushed out of Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza and Damboa (in Borno state) all moved to Boko Haram camps in Sambisa."


Lieutenant-General Kenneth Minimah, Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, told journalists recently Boko Haram had been virtually wiped out, crediting a new regime of troop discipline, a cache of better equipment and a joint offensive with neighbouring countries.

He said he was confident of a resolution in the Chibok case with the clearing of Sambisa forest. "By the time we capture Sambisa forest completely, we will be able to find out where the Chibok girls are, because as it is now anybody you ask says they haven't seen them," he said.

He also predicted the swift demise of Boko Haram, which has terrorised Nigeria for more than a decade. "In the next six months, I'm sure that Nigerians would have forgotten that Boko Haram reigned and terrorised a region. I believe so," he said.