The Joint Task Force North-West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, has launched a major offensive aimed at dismantling terrorist and armed criminal networks operating across the region.
The offensive, codenamed Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, involves coordinated ground and air operations across the North-West, with the objective of degrading terrorist capabilities, disrupting their movements and logistics, and preventing them from establishing operational footholds in Nigerian communities.
In a statement on Thursday, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, said the operation was designed to intensify pressure on terrorist and criminal elements and prevent the infiltration and expansion of terrorist activities across the region.
He said the operation had already resulted in intensified military activities in several areas, including Katsina and Zamfara states.
According to Danja, troops of Sector 2 on Wednesday, August 12, conducted a clearance operation around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.
He said the operation mounted significant pressure on the terrorists, forcing them to abandon their positions and retreat into surrounding bushes.
“Clearance operations are ongoing in the general area,” he said.
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.
Danja said the air strikes neutralised scores of terrorists, while survivors abandoned their motorcycles and fled into surrounding bushes.
He added that the air assets subsequently tracked and engaged the fleeing terrorists.
The military also identified the containment and dismantling of the Lakurawa terrorist network as a major component of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV.
According to the statement, the operation is aimed at preventing the infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria while denying them the opportunity to exploit border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of enclaves.
The operation will also target terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and the Kainji Lake National Park, with the aim of preventing the areas from being used as platforms for launching attacks on adjoining communities and other parts of the North-West.
Danja said the launch of the operation demonstrated the theatre command’s proactive and sustained approach to tackling evolving terrorist threats in the region.
“The Theatre remains resolute in protecting civilian communities, securing Nigeria’s territorial integrity and denying terrorist elements the opportunity to regroup, reinforce or establish operational footholds,” he said.
Operation FANSAN YAMMA is expected to sustain the offensive through coordinated ground and air operations across identified terrorist hotspots in the North-West.
