A yet unknown number of Nigerian soldiers drowned in the Yobe River in North-East Nigeria as they tried to escape intense fire from Boko Haram fighters on Monday, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.
Also, no fewer than 22 soldiers are currently recuperating in a hospital in neighbouring Niger Republic following the attack.
The troops were manning an outpost in Gashigar, Borno State, near the border with Niger, when hundreds of terrorists advanced rapidly towards them, forcing the troops to abandon their position with some diving into the nearby river, top military sources familiar with the development told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday.
The Nigerian Army had on Tuesday distributed a statement announcing the assault on Nigerian troops, but blamed it on “escaping Boko Haram remnants.”
But a day after the statement, which was signed by Sani Usman, a colonel, details of what actually transpired on the battlefield that day and the reaction of commanders on the ground have been exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
According to the security sources, the soldiers, attached to 145 Task Force Battalion, came under attack around 5:00 p.m. on Monday, but rescue operation did not yield result until the next day.
On that Tuesday, three rescue operations were carried out by soldiers from the neighbouring Republic of Niger operating in Ngarwa.
Around 7:00 a.m., they rescued the first set of nine Nigerian soldiers. At about 2:00 p.m., seven more were rescued. The last set of six troops was rescued around 5:30 p.m. in the River Komadougou Yobe, which empties into Lake Chad through Niger.
Post a Comment