Operation FANSAN YAMMA Launches Major Offensive Against Terrorist, Criminal Networks in North West
The Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, has launched a major offensive, codenamed Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, to intensify pressure on terrorist and armed criminal groups operating across the North West.
The Theatre Command said the simultaneous ground and air offensive is aimed at degrading the capabilities of terrorist and criminal elements, disrupting their movements and logistics, and preventing them from establishing operational footholds in communities across the region.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the Theatre’s Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, the operation has already resulted in intensified military activities in several locations.
In Katsina State, troops of Sector 2 on Wednesday conducted a clearance operation around suspected terrorist enclaves in the Dutsinma Local Government Area, forcing the terrorists to abandon their positions and flee into surrounding bushes.
The statement said the clearance operation was still ongoing in the general area as troops maintained pressure on the fleeing elements.
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In Zamfara State, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA also carried out precision strikes following credible intelligence on the movement and convergence of terrorists on motorcycles in Anka Local Government Area.
The strikes neutralised scores of terrorists and forced surviving elements to abandon their motorcycles and flee into nearby bushes. The air assets subsequently tracked and engaged the fleeing terrorists, according to the Theatre Command.
A key objective of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV is the containment and dismantling of the Lakurawa terrorist network, particularly efforts to prevent the infiltration and reinforcement of its elements into Nigeria.
The operation is also designed to deny terrorist groups the use of border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of operational enclaves.
The Theatre Command said the offensive would further target terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and Kainji Lake National Park, with the aim of preventing the areas from being exploited as platforms for projecting violence into neighbouring communities and other parts of the North West.
The launch of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, it added, reflects the sustained and proactive posture of Operation FANSAN YAMMA in responding to evolving terrorist threats in the region.
The Theatre Command reaffirmed its commitment to protecting civilian communities, securing Nigeria’s territorial integrity and denying terrorist groups the opportunity to regroup, reinforce or establish operational footholds across the North West.