ISWAP Overrun Military Base in Borno State, Nigeria

01/16/2021 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – On Friday, January 15, militants from the Islamic State backed faction of Boko Haram, ISWAP, attacked a town in Borno State. The town of Marte is in the lake chad region of Northerastern Nigeria, the area where Boko Haram has been most active in recent years. During the attack, the terrorists were able to push thousands of residents out of their homes and off their lands. They were also able to overrun the Nigerian military base located there.

This devastating loss for the Nigerian government is just another sign that they are far from winning this war. The government has said that they are responding to this situation. “The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is under way,” a military source told AFP news on Saturday. A statement by the military said that the troops “tactically withdrew” in order to fend off the attack and that they were able to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy.

It is however, currently unclear how many people the terrorist lost or how many the military lost to this attack. It is also unclear how much the terrorist group was able to gain. ISWAP said that it killed seven people and captured one. The group also declared that they had stolen weapons, ammunition and six four-wheel-drive vehicles during the attack.