Roundup: Nigerian troops destroy Boko Haram flag in Sambisa forest

Nigerian troops operating in restive northeast region have dismantled the official Boko Haram terrorists flag at Parisu, Camp Zero deep inside their last enclave in Sambisa forest.

In a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub on Tuesday, the Nigerian Army said the troops' on-going operations inside the Camp Zero signify the capture of the headquarters of Boko Haram terrorists.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had declared that Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed, driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide.

On his part, Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has said the Sambisa forest will serve as training ground for personnel of the Nigerian Army beginning from 2017.

Buratai was in Damasak to celebrate the Christmas with troops of 145 Battalion after the road leading to the town was reopened by Governor Kashim Shettima, three years after closure.

The roads are Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak and Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga.

The army chief said troops were already conducting a mop-up operation in the forest after the last stronghold of the Boko Haram terrorists was captured.

"We are also opening up roads to the forest as well as Alagarno forest. This Sambisa forest is going to be one of our training grounds," he said.

"We are going to use it also to test fire our fighting vehicles, as well as other key equipment and weapons that requires testing firing whenever we want to induct new weapon and equipment into the Nigerian army inventory," Buratai added.

He charged troops in the restive region to pursue the fleeing Boko Haram terrorists and intercept them.

"You must maintain the momentum of the operation. We must pursue the terrorists wherever they are. We must not allow them to regroup," the army chief said.

According to Buratai, one of the terrorists, who fled to Lagos, was arrested on Saturday in Ikorodu area of the state.

He said in spite of the takeover of the terrorists' last stronghold in the Sambisa forest as announced by President Buhari, there is no time to waste.

The chief of army staff described the seven-year fight against the Boko Haram terrorists as "quite sober and touchy", saying that a number of officers and soldiers had lost their lives in the war.

He prayed for the repose of their souls and vowed that the army would recommit itself to the fight until remnants of the terrorists were cleared.

In the same vein, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, the Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, had earlier said that the North East had been secured.

He added that insurgency had brought untold hardship on the people of Borno people and the entire North East zone.

Irabor said the roads being reopened were closed three years ago to check the incursion of the insurgents, adding that the reopening of such roads was an indication that the terrorists had been defeated.

The Sambisa Forest was where Boko Haram was believed to be holding some of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok in Borno State.

Nigerian troops have freed thousands of captives this year, but none of the Chibok girls among 276 seized from a government boarding school.

Dozens of girls escaped within hours of their abduction. In October, 21 Chibok girls were freed through negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. In May, one Chibok girl escaped on her own. Some 197 remain missing.

Boko Haram's seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across Nigeria's borders, driven some 2.3 million people from their homes and created a massive humanitarian crisis. Endit