The statements came the same day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss Islamic extremism and regional security.
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The terrorists attempted to storm the troops location at about 10pm, but paid dearly as the troops killed several of them, including two senior commanders that led the attack. Earlier this month, ISIS backed a new leader for them.
Observers don’t expect confirmation of Shekau’s death from the terrorist group, which only communicates in periodic videos sent to the media.
The shallow Lake Chad, which is located on the southern edge of Sahara, borders Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. USA intelligence officials have said Shekau is bent on establishing an Islamic caliphate.
Almost half a million children around Lake Chad face “severe acute malnutrition” due to drought and a seven-year insurgency by militant group Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria, UNICEF said on Thursday.
The countries surrounding Lake Chad are all contributing to a multinational force to combat Boko Haram, making recent gains against the insurgents who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group previous year.
Shekau has been presumed or declared dead before, only to reappear later in video messages broadcast on extremist websites.
“Their leader, so-called “Abubakar Shekau”, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders”, said the statement released by military spokesman Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman.
“We advice him to go and read the history of the emergence of Boko Haram so that he will be saved from going before his fellow lawyers and engaging in this macabre dance”, he said.
Nigerian government officials say they’re in contact with the group.
There have been recent signs of rifts between at least parts of Boko Haram and Islamic State.
President Obama said in October that 300 US troops would be deployed to a secretive base in Cameroon, but administration officials have been loath to speak publicly about the extent of Washington’s involvement in military aspects of the campaign.
“The Secretary made offers to provide additional assistance on the economy”, the official added. However, the U.S. withdrew military support from the previous Nigerian government, under Goodluck Jonathan, over concerns about a poor human rights record.
But the new administration argues its human rights record has improved significantly enough to lift the blockade. The US Congress has yet to approve the sale, however.
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But Kerry also stressed the need to respect human rights in the crackdown against the militant group. Besides, one million children are feared to be still trapped in many parts of the country that are deemed risky for people to travel, the United Nations children’s agency said in a report released on Thursday (25 August).
