Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it has killed dozens of bandits in Zamfara State following an air and ground assault on the Makakkari Forest. The operation was launched after intelligence confirmed a large group of around 400 bandits was planning to attack a local farming community.
According to a press statement from Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the Director of Public Relations and Information for the Nigerian Air Force, the operation involved “precision airstrikes” and a ground assault. The military claims the attack resulted in the death of several “notorious kingpins” and many of their foot soldiers. The NAF highlighted the “synergy between air and land components” as key to the operation’s success.
Analysis
This latest report of a successful air strike in Zamfara is another sign of the Nigerian military’s ongoing efforts to curb widespread banditry in the country’s northwest. The region has been plagued by violence from armed groups who routinely kidnap for ransom and raid rural communities. The use of coordinated air and ground assaults is a tactic the military has increasingly employed to counter these groups, often in response to specific intelligence.
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