Greater military coordination with neighboring Cameroon and Chad and help from the US have pushed the jihadists to withdraw deep into the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria in recent months. Shekau, in particular, he claimed, was “fatally wounded on his shoulders”.
Advertisement
“We [know] beating Boko Haram on the battlefield is only the beginning of what we must do”, Kerry said in a speech in the northern Nigerian city of Sokoto Tuesday.
In a statement, Sani Usman, the army’s spokesman, said after “interdiction efforts” by the Nigerian Air Force on Friday (Aug. 19) “some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed”.
The top USA diplomat, who was in Kenya on Monday, is expected to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency, fighting corruption and boosting Nigeria’s moribund economy that has been pummelled by the drop in global oil prices.
A video showing dozens of the girls on Sunday said Shekau is willing to negotiate a prisoner swap for detained Boko Haram commanders.
Kerry “made very, very strong commitments to the (Nigerian) government that we are going to look at what we can do differently”, the official said, adding that the package for the aircraft was still being considered and needed congressional approval.
His meetings have dealt with the terrorist threat across the continent, from Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab in East Africa to Islamic State-backed Boko Haram in the West.
In return, Buhari thanked the U.S. for its assistance in fighting Boko Haram and pledged to continue his anti-graft war “according to the rule of law”.
Nigeria’s military said 300 insurgents in total were killed including several senior fighters in a raid on north-eastern Borno state.
Nigeria has made “important progress”, Kerry said.
A video showing dozens of the girls last Sunday said Shekau is willing to negotiate a prisoner swap for detained Boko Haram commanders.
There was no immediate reaction from the terror organisation. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Buhari in Nigeria this week; security concerns are on the agenda.
The Nigerian military may be trying to prove the legitimacy of using airstrikes after a video was released earlier this month claiming that some of the 218 kidnapped Chibok girls had died following an aerial attack on Boko Haram camps by government forces.
Advertisement
Shekau started the uprising in 2009 that has killed 20,000 people, driven more than 2.2 million from their homes, and spread across Nigeria’s borders.
