A woman and her child identified as family members of Boko Haram insurgents have escaped from a terrorist enclave in the Mandara Mountains and surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Borno State.
Security sources disclosed that the duo surrendered to troops of the 192 Battalion (Mechanised) at about 9:55 a.m. on June 3 while the soldiers were conducting picketing duties along the Gwoza-Limankara road.
The sources identified the escapees as Binta Umaru, 19, and her two-year-old daughter, Hafsat Ibrahim.
According to preliminary debriefing, the pair escaped from the Kwatara terrorist enclave located within the Mandara Mountains in Gwoza Local Government Area.
The woman reportedly told security personnel that sustained military pressure on insurgent positions, coupled with severe shortages of food and other basic necessities within the camp, compelled her to flee with her daughter.
Military sources said the escapees were properly screened, documented and taken into custody for further profiling and administrative procedures.
The surrender is the latest in a series of defections and escapes from terrorist enclaves in the North-East, which security authorities attribute to ongoing military operations targeting insurgent strongholds across the region.
The military said the general security situation across the theatre remained calm but unpredictable, adding that troops continued to sustain offensive operations against terrorist elements while maintaining high morale and operational effectiveness.
By: Zagazola Makama
