Boko Haram kills 35 ISWAP fighters in fierce Lake Chad battle

Reports say the two rival terrorist groups clashed on Saturday, December 7, 2023, leading to the dislodgement of ISWAP from two of its Lake Chad region enclaves.

A source who confirmed the incident to The Punch in Maiduguri on Sunday said the clash followed a series of intensive onslaughts on the ISWAP strongholds by Boko Haram combatants led by five of the group's commanders, most notably Abu Umaimah.

It was gathered that the attacks began on the Lake Chad island of Toumbun Gini and resulted in Boko Haram also carting away a large number of weapons belonging to the ISWAP fighters while chasing them out of their enclaves.

The paper also reported that ISWAP had suffered heavy casualties from Boko Haram in recent weeks, especially in the Sambisa forest and Lake Chad region, forcing them to resort to a defensive strategy in its clashes with their rival group.

Another source also told The Punch that the sustained attacks by Boko Haram necessitated high-profile ISWAP leaders to convey a meeting at Tumbun Murhu where it discussed its inability to stage major attacks during the Yuletide as earlier planned.

The paper quoted the two sources as saying that, “ISWAP has now resolved to carry out a series of attacks on Boko Haram strongholds in the Lake Chad and Sambisa forest axis.”

The source added that

The inability, according to the sources, was caused by the clashes and attacks on its camps by Boko Haram.

However, The PUNCH could not immediately obtain comments from the Operation Hadin Kai Theater Command due to the recent replacement of the Theater Commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, in a recent mass transfer of officers by the Nigerian Army authorities.