Nigerian army ready to dislodge Boko Haram from stronghold: defense minister

The Nigerian Army was set to destroy all camps and hideouts of members of the Boko Haram sect in Sambisa forest, the sect's stronghold, Minister of Defense, Mansur Dan'ali said Saturday.

The troops are now at the verge of entering the forest to flush out the insurgents terrorizing some states in the northeast of Nigeria, Dan'ali said in northwest Zamfara State during an inspection tour of the construction site of a new army barrack.

He said tremendous success had been recorded in the fight against Boko Haram as well as cattle rustling in the country, since the beginning of the present administration.

"We have been working seriously, going round the world, collaborating with other countries in fighting terrorism at the national, regional and international levels," the minister said.

Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

The Nigerian government said in December 2015 that Boko Haram had been "technically" defeated and was no longer capable of conventional warfare, instead resorting to guerrilla attacks on soft targets.

Nigeria is heading up an 8,700-strong multi-national joint task force, along with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, that was set up in March 2015. Endit