Nigeria's military has announced that it killed 35 jihadists during a series of air strikes conducted near the northeastern border with Cameroon. The strikes, which targeted four locations, were aimed at countering what the military described as an impending attack on ground forces. The ongoing conflict in Nigeria, particularly with jihadist groups, has been a pressing issue for over a decade, compounded by violent criminal gangs, sectarian disputes, and rampant kidnappings.
A recent statement from a coalition of prominent Nigerian figures, including former government officials and civil society leaders, highlighted the alarming "war-time levels of slaughter" occurring in the country, despite its official peace status. According to a report by Amnesty International, more than 10,217 deaths have occurred since President Bola Tinubu took office two years ago, prompting the group to call for the establishment of a Presidential Task Force with significant powers to tackle the multiple ongoing conflicts, including the resurgence of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
The Nigerian military has reported the elimination of nearly 600 militants over the past eight months. However, independent verification of these claims is lacking. In support of ground operations, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has pledged to continue providing air cover in the fight against jihadist strongholds in the northeast, where the United Nations estimates that over 35,000 individuals have lost their lives and two million have been displaced.
Just this month, the U.S. State Department approved a $346 million arms deal intended to assist Nigeria in managing its security challenges. The Institute for Security Studies has observed up to 15 jihadist attacks in the year thus far, especially along Nigeria's borders with Cameroon and Niger, where jihadists have increasingly employed modified commercial drones for assaults on military installations.
Furthermore, the military has also claimed success in fighting 'bandits', the local term for criminal gangs that plague northwestern areas of the country. In an operation in Katsina state, forces rescued 76 individuals from kidnappers, including women and children, although reports indicated a tragic death during the rescue. This operation followed a brutal attack on a mosque and neighboring residences that left at least 50 dead and about 60 kidnapped, underscoring the dire situation in regions most affected by banditry and violence, particularly Katsina and its neighboring Zamfara state.
