Troops of Operation Desert Sanity of the Nigerian Army on clearance patrol in Sambisa Forest in embattled North East Borno State, have discovered the wreckage of crashed Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with two crew members on 31 March 2021.
The aircraft was reported missing after losing radar contact with the air force base in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital while on offensive against fighters of Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
The army wrote on March 26, 2022: “BREAKING: Troops of Operation Desert Sanity on a clearance patrol in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, have uncovered the wreckage of crashed Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with 2 crew members on 31 March 2021. Further exploitation is ongoing.”
The Nigerian Army stated on Saturday while giving update on the recent success recorded by the troops in overrunning the terrorists’ Camp Zairo in the fortified Sambisa Forest.
The military also stated that further exploitation was ongoing as well as clearance operations to mop up the area.
“In continuation with the ongoing clearance operations, Gallant troops of Operation Desert Sanity today conducted further exploitation around Ukuba/Camp Zairo in Sambisa Forest and discovered IED making workshops of BokoHaram/ISWAP.”
Sambisa is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria in the south western part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60 kilometres vast with savannah forest serving as the fortress of Boko Haram insurgents.
In May 2021, ISWAP launched an invasion of the Sambisa Forest which served as main base of Boko Haram, a rival jihadist rebel group.
Following heavy fighting, ISWAP overran the Boko Haram troops, cornering and killing their leader, Abubakar Shekau.
The forest is now home to remnants of Boko Haram and fighters of ISWAP.
The terrorism in North East Borno has caused the death of more than 120,000 people and displaced more than six million others aside the decimation of social infrastructure, including schools.
The Nigerian Army is reported to be gradually taking control of the vast forest with the resistance of jihadists who have since spread their violence to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.
Many countries, including the USA, have intensified efforts in assisting Nigeria clear the menace of Jihadists who tried to take over part of the highly populated West African nation since 2009.
Aside delivery of sophisticated weapons to Nigeria, the USA on March 25, 2022 designated six Nigerians as sponsors of the terrorist group Boko months after their convictions in the UAE.
The U.S. Department of State announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added the citizens to the terror-support list.
They are Abdurrahman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad.
They are now Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended.
They were indicted for “having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Boko Haram”.
The American government said the action follows the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutions, convictions, and designations of the individuals for supporting terrorism.
The Department of State designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization on November 14, 2013.
