Authorities in Chad have reported violent fighting between the country’s rebels and rebels of Sudanese origin in the far north region of Kouri Bougoudi, Chad, like reported by kmaupdates.com.

According to local media reports, the Sudanese rebel movement JEM arrived in the region with a dozen vehicles from southern Libya where they clashed with the Chadian rebel group.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Chadian army officer said that the Chadian army was supporting the Sudanese rebels in the fighting because they want to cut off the Chadian rebels from their supply lines.

But, Oumar Yaya Hissein, a spokesman for the minister of communication has denied the army was working with the Sudanese rebels.

He noted: “If somebody tells you that the government is dealing with rebels, it’s fake. We deal with legalistic and legal entities. We do not work with the rebels, whether they are from Sudan or from any other country.”

Portuguese peacekeepers battled for five hours to protect civilians and restore order after militants killed two police officers in the Central African Republic town of Bambari ahead of a scheduled visit by the country’s president on Thursday, January 10, like reported by thedefensepost.com.

The attack came a day after President Faustin-Archange Touadera announced that the government would meet armed groups in African Union-brokered peace talks in Khartoum.

Members of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC) ex-Seleka militia and their allies carried out “various attacks” in the town early Thursday, a government statementsaid.

“Two policemen were killed and another was wounded,” Communications Minister Ange-Maxime Kazagui told AFP.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said it was treating 30 people for bullet wounds. MSF later said 26 people were still being treated but one person had died in hospital.

Corbeau News reported that around 10 people were killed, but it was not possible to confirm this toll.

The government later said on Twitter that 20 UPC members were killed and 15 others wounded.

According to an internal U.N. report seen by AFP, a combatant called “General Bello,” in charge of UPC fighters in Bambari, had been wounded.

Portuguese paratroopers in five-hour firefight

Minusca, the U.N. peacekeeping force in the country, sent peacekeepers to the site of the clashes, spokesperson Vladimir Monteiro told AFP. Its troops there had come under fire a day earlier, he added.

On Wednesday, the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces said that paratroopers had deployed to Bambari, using its General Dynamics Pandur II wheeled armored vehicles for the first time in Africa.

On Thursday, the Portuguese “blue helmets spent five hours in direct combat” with UPC militants “with the objective of protecting civilians and restoring peace, interposing itself between the opposition group and the defenseless civilian population,” the General Staff said.

The UPC had used heavy weapons during the attack, putting civilians in the crossfire during confrontations with the Central African Armed Forces (FACa), it said, adding that all the paratroopers were safe.

Portugal has contributed peacekeepers to Minusca since the beginning of 2017. A total of 180 personnel, mainly paratroopers, are deployed, with a special company operating from the capital Bangui as a Rapid Reaction Force.

Portugal contributes a further 50 personnel to the European Union Training Mission in CAR (EUTM-RCA), and Portugal’s Major General Hermínio Maio has since January 2018 served as Mission Force Commander in theatre. He leads a total of 187 personnel from Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Sweden. On January 8, personnel from Brazil joined the mission.

The E.U. mission has trained more than 3,000 personnel to serve in FACa, and last July, the bloc extended EUTM-RCA until 2020, pledging €25 million ($29 million) to help reform the country’s defense sector. The scope of the mission was also modified to give strategic advice to the president’s cabinet, interior ministry and police, as well as the military.

Bambari: A city without arms or armed groups?

Bambari, in the center of CAR, straddles several areas under the influence of various armed groups and enjoyed a relative calm after the intervention of Minusca in early 2017 to oust the UPC. The U.N. subsequently made Bambari a showcase for its Central African Republic intervention, arguing that the town was ‘without arms or armed groups,’ but over the past six months there have been a number of other significant violent incidents in the town.

On May 16, Minusca said it had retaken control of Bambari following two days of violence that left at least eight people dead. The U.N. said around 7,000 people had fled their homes, while the Central African Red Cross (CRCA) said that 32 people had died and 23 were injured.

According to some reports, fighters from the UPC, an ex-Seleka militia group led by Ali Darras, were responsible for the violence in Bambari, but a UPC spokesperson denied that its fighters had entered the town.

On May 22, the Minusca Force Commander, Senegal’s Lieutenant General Balla Keita said that peacekeepers in support of the government would use any means necessary to restore security to Bambari. Keita said that additional Minusca personnel would be deployed to the town to ensure respect for the U.N.’s flagship “Bambari without armed groups” initiative, calling it a “showcase of the restoration of the authority of the state.”

But on June 10, a Burundian peacekeeper was killed and another blue helmet seriously injured during three hours of clashes with the UPC.

On October 31, a Portuguese paratrooper suffered minor injuries after being hit during clashes with an armed group in Bambari, the General Staff said. Two days later, Portuguese troops fought for seven hours for control of the town against militants who used heavy weapons and launched rocket propelled grenades from fortified positions. The military later published dramatic video of its troops in combat.

On November 17, three Central African military personnel died and three were injured in a shootout between soldiers in Bambari that pitted members of military engineering units against each other. The engineers had been deployed to undertake work in preparation for delayed World Food Day celebrations.

Bambari attacks ‘unacceptable’ after peace talks agreed

Touadera had been scheduled to visit Bambari on Thursday and Friday to attend ceremonies for World Food Day.

The ceremonies, initially set for October 16, had already been postponed at least twice because of unrest and were suspended once more after the latest clashes.

“The seriousness of these attacks is all the more unacceptable” given that the authorities agreed to open talks with the rebels, the government statement said.

On Wednesday, Touadera announced long-awaited African Union-backed peace talks between the government and armed groups set for January 24 in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Supported by the U.N. and CAR’s main partners, the A.U. has been striving to kick-start negotiations between the militias and the government since July 2017, but some diplomats and observers have criticized the process for inefficiency.

In August, an African Union facilitation panel met with armed groups, where they agreed 104 demands later presented to the government.

Further east, the town of Bakouma remained under the control of another ex-Seleka rebel group, the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC), AFP reported. The FPRC attacked the town in late December, and on January 9, the U.N. said more than 12,000 people had been displaced to ‘roads and forests’ due to violence in Bakouma. According to some reports, the UPC was also involved in the violence.

Despite reserves of diamonds, gold, uranium, copper and iron, Central African Republic remains one of the world’s poorest countries.

The majority-Christian country descended into violence following the 2013 ousting of President Francois Bozize in 2013 by the Seleka, a coalition of mainly Muslim rebel groups.

Seleka was officially disbanded within months, but many fighters refused to disarm, becoming known as ex-Seleka. Many others joined the mainly Christian anti-balaka militia to fight the Seleka, leading to a spiral of violence between groups along religious and ethnic lines.

By the end of 2014, CAR was de facto partitioned – anti-balaka in the southwest and ex-Seleka in the northeast.

Touadera’s weak government controls around a fifth of the country and relies heavily on the U.N. peacekeeping mission, Minusca, for support. The rest is controlled by at least 14 different militia groups who often fight each other for revenue from extortion, roadblocks or mineral resources.

Violence by both sides led to thousands of deaths. Nearly 700,000 people are displaced and 570,000 have fled the country, according to the U.N.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 2.9 million people – more than 63 percent of the population – will need humanitarian assistance in 2019.

Seven peace agreements have been signed since the crisis erupted in 2012, but none has endured.

Hundreds of insurgents have been killed in the renewed onslaught against Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast, the military said.

The military said Special Forces troops had been unleashed on terrorists in series of clearance operations in Borno State, the epicentre of the insurgency.

According to the military, the weapons of the insurgents were confiscated in the aftermath of the raids on their locations.

The troops, made up of the Nigerian Army Special Forces, the Nigerian Navy Special Forces as well as the Nigerian Air Force Special Forces, however, lost an officer and a soldier during the clearance operations.

Army spokesman Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, who confirmed the development, said the operations, which began on December 28, last year, ensured that several towns and villages were cleared of remnants of the insurgents.

In a statement, Brig.-Gen. Usman listed the towns already cleared as Zare, Gudumbali, Kukawa and Cross Kauwa.

The troops, the statement added, have also taken control of Baga and are now clearing the fringes of Lake Chad.

He lauded the troops for their gallantry in giving the terrorists a bloody nose, saying the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole also gave maximum air support in dealing a devastating blow on the terrorists.

Brig.-Gen. Usman said in the statement: “In the determined efforts to wipe out remnants of Boko Haram terrorists that now go by the appellation of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), the gallant troops of the newly formed Nigerian Army Special Forces Command (NASFC), Operation LAFIYA DOLE, have given the terrorists that attacked troops location in Baga a bloody nose.

“The triumphant troops, particularly the highly revered 707 Special Forces Brigade, which is the vanguard of the great exploit, dealt the decisive blow that neutralised several terrorists along that axis despite prior warning to them by some unpatriotic elements.

“The Special Forces commenced clearance operations on 28th December 2018, where they cleared Zare, Gudumbali, Kukawa and Cross Kauwa without any resistance from suspected terrorists. However, at Cross Kauwa, the unfortunate ISWAP terrorists made a costly mistake of raising their ugly heads.

“In professional fashion the troops exploited the situation to instantly and decisively neutralise the insurgents and captured some equipment.

“Though some of the terrorists attempted to infiltrate troops’ camp at Monguno, the gallant troops lured them and neutralised many of them and recovered some arms and ammunition.

“The troops who are in high spirits have since linked up with other forces in Baga where they cleared the Naval Base and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, in the process, the Special Forces lost one officer and a soldier while five other soldiers sustained injuries. The remains of the two fallen heroes and the wounded have since been evacuated. The injured soldiers are in stable condition and receiving medical attention.

“The troops are now busy consolidating and clearing vestiges of the terrorists within the northern Borno State axis with special emphasis on the Lake Chad region.

“The Special Forces attained these great strides in close operational synergy with Air Task Force of the Nigerian Air Force who gave Intelligence and close air support by bombarding the ISWAP terrorists.

“The outstanding and dare devil exploits of the NAF’s pilots gave more courage and fire power to the troops. Similarly, the Nigerian Navy Special Forces were not left out of these gallant efforts.”

US forces have conducted a series of air strikes in Somalia in recent days, including one announced Wednesday that officials said killed six jihadists, like reported by dailymail.co.uk.

The strikes come as part of an ongoing mission in which US forces are working with African Union and Somali national security forces to fight the Shabaab movement.

According to US Africa Command (AFRICOM), the US conducted strikes each day from January 6-8, killing 16 militants in total.

On January 2, in the first US strike of 2019 in Somalia, 10 Shabaab fighters were killed.

A strike on Tuesday which left six dead took place on a Shabaab encampment that served as a staging area for “terrorists” in the region, AFRICOM said in a statement Wednesday.

The Pentagon has increased the rate of strikes in Somalia in recent years, partly because President Donald Trump loosened constraints on when the US military can take actions against alleged terrorists.

Last month, the US military said it had killed 62 Shabaab militants in six air strikes in Somalia.

NBC News last week reported that Trump is mulling a possible draw down in Somalia, where about 500 US personnel are deployed.

Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Candice Tresch said: “There have been no recent (Pentagon) policy changes regarding US operations in Somalia.”

Trump has ordered a US withdrawal from Syria and, according to US officials, wants to slash the troop presence in Afghanistan.

“The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world,” Trump said during a Christmastime visit to Iraq.

“We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven’t even heard about. Frankly, it’s ridiculous.”

The Pentagon in November announced it would trim about 10 percent of the 7,200 US troops in Africa as part of a broader shift in focus towards “Great Power” competitors such as China and Russia.

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northeast Nigeria after an increase in violence in the Boko Haram conflict, the United Nations said according to egyptindependent.com.

“More than 30,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have arrived in Maiduguri, mainly from Baga, in recent weeks,” said the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon.

Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, has been repeatedly hit in the nine-year conflict, which has killed more than 27,000, left 1.8 million people homeless and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram overran two military bases in and around the fishing town on late December.

Kallon said fighting on December 26 triggered a “massive displacement” of civilians, with men, women and children flocking to already overcrowded camps in Monguno and Maiduguri.

Monguno is a garrison town 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Baga while the Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, is 200 kilometers away on the same road.

Both are considered key prizes for the jihadists, who have increased their attacks on military bases and soldiers since July last year.

A second attack on Monguno on December 28 forced IDPs to Maiduguri. Some 20,000 arrived at one camp, Teachers Village, stretching its capacity beyond the limit.

Kallon said it was unclear how many remained in Monguno but “tens of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, notably shelter, food, water and sanitation.

“The impact of the recent fighting on innocent civilians is devastating and has created a humanitarian tragedy,” he added.

Local and international aid agencies have been providing life-saving assistance to IDPs for several years in the remote region, which has been devastated by the fighting.

But since November, some 260 aid workers have had to withdraw from three local government areas in northern Borno near Lake Chad where ISWAP are known to operate.

Kallon said “hundreds of thousands of people” had been affected and the withdrawal was the largest since the international response was increased in 2016.

– Election issue –

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said in December 2015 that Boko Haram was “technically defeated” after a sustained counter-insurgency by Nigerian and regional troops.

Tens of thousands of IDPs who had previously fled to Maiduguri have in the last year been encouraged to leave after the authorities maintained it was safe to return home.

On Wednesday Buhari acknowledged setbacks, including “battle fatigue” among soldiers from a persistent wave of guerrilla style hit-and-run tactics and suicide bombings.

Buhari was elected in 2015 on a promise to end the conflict and security has again become a major election issue as he seeks a second term of office at polls next month.

Troops on the ground have increasingly complained about conditions, including a lack of relief and support, as well as equipment to fight the better-armed militants.

But the army has repeatedly — and often angrily — played down reports of heavy military casualties and that the insurgents are once again resurgent.

Media organizations have been threatened with legal action for publishing non-official information.

On December 14, the military said it had suspended the UN children’s fund UNICEF from operating in the northeast because it was training “spies” supporting Boko Haram.

The ban was later withdrawn. But senior commanders later threatened Amnesty International with closure, accusing it of fabricating reports about human rights abuses in the conflict.

On Sunday, soldiers raided the offices of Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper in Maiduguri, Abuja and Lagos after a front-page report that troops were preparing to retake Baga.

Two reporters were detained and later released after an outcry from press freedom and human rights watchdogs.

Information minister Lai Mohammed on Tuesday said the government was “not about to gag the press”, after comparisons were made to media harassment during decades of military rule.

But he said there needed to be “restraint and… more responsibility in reporting the insurgency”.

Boko Haram, the violent group, which has made headlines with its savage tactics, is again on the offensive, like reported by guardian.ng.

News reports suggest that it has made inroads into hitherto safe territories. Governor Kashim Shettima, ostensibly the Chief Security Officer of Borno State, is reported to have broken down in tears over the onslaught. His Katsina counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, has also raised the alarm about the level of insecurity in the President’s home state. Specifically, Boko Haram has seized six towns in Borno State. It has also been reported that some naval jets are stranded in Baga and the Navy Commander has fled to Munguno in Borno State. A few weeks ago about 40 soldiers lost their lives to the insurgents in one fell swoop. This is frightening.

Furthermore, thousands are reported to have fled to Maiduguri to avoid the bloodhounds, once described as “one of the world’s deadliest terror groups.’ We are compelled to ask the Army High Command: what exactly is going on? What has the military done with the millions of naira allocated to prosecute the war? We are also compelled to ask: Mr. President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, does the nation not deserve a better deal than the current fiasco? Is this the group that President Muhammadu Buhari once declared had been technically defeated? If the situation is so dangerous, what is the business of the Army sending soldiers across Nigeria in preparation for the forthcoming elections? It is either that some officials have not got their priority right or mischief is afoot!

One of the election promises of candidate Muhammadu Buhari was that he would end the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. The nation was elated when on December 24, 2015, the President declared that the Nigerian army had ‘technically won the war’ and that the group ‘could no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces or population centres.’ These words we are sure have haunted the incumbent government in the light of what has followed since 2017. Boko Haram seems to have grown in weaponry and capacity to embarrass the Nigerian Army.

We acknowledge the fact that it is more difficult to fight insurgents who adopt eclectic tactics than regular forces, which fight by conventional methods. Yet the report, which suggests that whole towns have been seized by the insurgents, is a damning verdict on the armed forces. How could whole towns and cities be seized from the Nigerian Army? What is the Army not doing right? Is it a problem of inferior equipment or low morale or both? Is it true that the insurgents have been strengthened by ransom sums paid to them by the government? Are there enough men on the ground to do the job? Have funds meant to prosecute the war been diverted by senior officers? Can an army that is faced with such a herculean task have the time and resources to deploy men and material to peaceful territories outside the war zone?

There is no cause for cheer. Countless lives have been lost. The morale of soldiers is low. Less than six weeks to the general elections Boko Haram seems to have stepped up its activities. Apart from loss of lives, people in the ‘conquered territory’ will not exercise their constitutional right to vote. Is there a grand agenda against the election or against the government by fifth columnists? What has suddenly breathed life into Boko Haram?

The President should wake up from his slumber. The army needs a shake-up. This is not the time for excuses. The war must be fought and won and the captured territories set free. If the resources, which the army asked for have been released, if the right equipment have been purchased then it has no excuse whatsoever to cede territories to the scoundrels. If it is true that on the watch of the current Army Command the scoundrels have expanded their territory then we need new blood, tactics and strategies. Routinely, army commands are tinkered with when the desired results are not achieved. If the President really means business this is the time to act. Stop Boko Haram now!

A recent airstrike in Somalia killed six militants linked to al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate, the U.S. Africa Command announced Monday.

The strike, conducted on Jan. 6, focused on militants near Dheerow Sanle and was designed to limit the extremist group’s “freedom of movement.” The Africa Command reported last week that a similar airstrike had been conducted on Jan. 2 and killed 10 al-Shabaab militants.

Africa Command says that so far no civilians were harmed in either airstrike.

“We remain fully committed to supporting the Federal Government of Somalia, its forces, and its partners in the fight against al-Shabaab,” Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg P. Olson, U.S. Africa Command’s director of operations, said in a statement Monday. “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conduct precision airstrikes such as this to foil terrorist plans, eliminate al-Shabaab terrorists and reduce the enemy’s freedom of maneuver.”

Approximately 500 U.S. troops are in Somalia, where they have been working alongside local forces to counter al-Shabaab and are primarily responsible for advising and aiding the Somali government and AMISOM troops, the U.N.-authorized African Union Mission to Somalia.

Last week, NBC reported that the U.S. was planning to cut back on its presence in Somalia, but the Pentagon has since said no new policy changes are underway.

“There have been no recent policy changes regarding U.S. operations in Somalia,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Candice Tresch said in a statement, according to Stars and Stripes. “We continue to support the Federal Government of Somalia’s efforts to degrade al-Shabab.”

Nigerian troops killed more than 100 Boko Haram fighters in a latest operation to rout remnants of the terror group in Nigeria’s northeast region, the army said in a statement on Monday.

The Boko Haram fighters were killed following the operation by troops in the two northeastern states of Borno and Yobe, said the army.

There was no specific number of terrorists killed and time of the operation in the official statement made available to Xinhua in Abuja.

The operation against Boko Haram, which has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria, took place in the troubled region’s Goniri, Damasak, Kross Kauwa, and Monguno, among other locations.

A high caliber of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the terrorists, according to the army.

Meanwhile, army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman disclosed that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had destroyed several gun trucks and facilities belonging to the Boko Haram group while giving close air support to ground troops and also facilitating the pursuit of fleeing terrorists.

“The battle has now further shifted to the fringes of Lake Chad and other suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ enclave along the borders,” Usman told reporters.

Boko Haram has so far killed about 20,000 people and forcing the displacement of millions of others in the most populous African country.

In its bid to reclaim its 2018 World Military Ranking as the 43rd country in the world with the greatest firepower, the Nigerian military has deployed thousands of soldiers, armoured tanks and fighter jets recover Baga, Borno State, and other towns lost to Boko Haram terrorists two weeks ago, like reported by thisdaylive.com.

It also enlisted member countries of the Multi-national Joint Task Force against terrorism (MNJTF), notably Niger Republic and Chad, in the operation.

This is coming as the Presidency last night ordered the military to vacate Daily Trust office.

The military had commenced a clampdown on journalists over report claiming that some parts of the country have been captured by Boko Haram terrorists.

To this end, some soldiers yesterday invaded the Maiduguri office of Daily Trust which broke the story of the fall of Baga and four other towns in northern Borno State to the terrorist group last week.

The military had denied losing Baga to the terrorists but fleeing residents confirmed that ISWAP operatives were patrolling the streets and indeed conducting early morning prayers in mosques in the affected towns.

By the accounts of the residents, the terrorists are in control of five towns notably Baga (host to the 7 Brigade Headquarters of the Multi-national Joint Task Force); Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran and Kekeno.

Defence spokesman, Brigadier-General John Agim, said the military was not disposed to disclosing any of its plans to launch a military offensive.

“If we are planning a military offensive, we cannot tell you, otherwise we will be disclosing our plans,” he said.

 Also, the Nigerian Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, declined to comment on the matter.

However, other NAF sources confirmed that jet fighters are already on ground, adding: “Our aircraft and pilots are already on ground in the North-east. We are poised to go.”

THISDAY further gathered that signals had since been sent to thousands of soldiers drawn from different military divisions across the country, putting them on alert while hundreds of others were already deployed and massing around the affected towns.

Also, armoured tanks and other military equipment were also moved into the “target” towns for the offensive.

Top military sources told THISDAY that the decision to launch the grand offensive informed several visits and meetings between the Defence Minister, Brigadier-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, who were both “specially assigned to review the preparedness of the military for the offensive.”

 The duo had several meetings with military chiefs already stationed in Maiduguri on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 A competent military source also told THISDAY that member countries of the MNJTF were part of the drive to move against the terrorists, adding, “Members of the MNJTF will be part of the operation.”

Chadian soldiers had some days ago decimated over 200 Boko Haram fighters operating around the borderline of Nigeria and Niger Republic.

The Chief of Air Staff said recently at the International Air Power conference held at the NAF Centre in Abuja, that the Air Force had agreed with Chadian officials to launch air strikes from Chad’s airfields.

 Also speaking at the weekend, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai, charged soldiers to fight to finish even as it launched a special motorcycle section in Chibok, Borno State.

In line with Buratai’s directive to the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole to take the war to their enclaves and flush out the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists, the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 7 Division Nigerian army and Commander Sector 1 Operation Lafiya Dole, Brigadier General Abdulmalik Bulama Biu, charged troops under his command to redouble their efforts with renewed vigour, gallantry and doggedness in the fight against insurgency and terrorism in the region.

The Commander of 28 Task Force Brigade Sector 1 of Operation Lafiya Dole, Brigadier General Mohammed Usman, also charged troops of 117 Task Force Battalion to be proactive and committed in the fight against terrorism while commissioning the battalion Quick Response Group (QRG) Special Motorcycle Section in Chibok.

 Usman stated that the motorbikes would certainly boost the fighting capacity and morale of the troops in the war against Boko Harram terrorists within the theatre of Operation Lafiya Dole especially around the Chibok general area.

 Meanwhile, the Presidency last night ordered the military to vacate the office of Daily Trust Newspaper.

Some soldiers had earlier yesterday  invaded the, Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri offices of Daily Trust which broke the story of the fall of Baga and four other towns in northern Borno State to the terrorist group last week.

According to an eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity to THISDAY, some armed soldiers yesterday invaded Daily Trust regional office in Maiduguri, Borno State, and arrested the regional editor, Uthman Abubakar, and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab.

He said they requested for the third person who shared the byline, Hamza Idris, who incidentally is based in Abuja and remains the political editor of the newspaper.

Telephone calls made to the two arrested journalists were not going through as their mobile phones were switched off.

 However, the military could not be reached for comments on the incident.

Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust Limited, Mannir Dan-Ali confirmed in a statement yesterday that the armed soldiers loaded in four vehicles occupied the head office of Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Daily Trust titles, for four hours, sending away journalists and other staff.

“Before the siege was called off at about 9.30 p.m., the soldiers has ransacked the newsroom and carted away dozens of computers and effectively strangulated the production of the Monday edition of the paper. Earlier in the day at about 4 p.m, another detachment of soldiers and plain cloth security officials went to the Maiduguri regional office of the company and conducted a search at the end of which they took away the Regional Bureau Chief, Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab. Neither the company nor the families of the 2 reporters have heard from them since. A production staff who was taken away from the Abuja head office alongside our computers was released after a period  of detention at the Mogadishu barrack in Abuja,” the statement explained.

“In Lagos, military men in seven vehicles arrived our offices at Textile Labour House in  Agidingbi at about 9 p.m and remain there until the time of issuing this statement.

“We have not been told of the reason for the military operation against this newspaper but suspect it may have to do with the lead story of the Daily Trust on Sunday that dwelt on the military’s effort to retake some towns recently reported to have been lost to insurgents.  Another clue is that during the invasion of our premises both in Maiduguri and in Abuja, the military men were asking for the reporters who wrote the story,” the statement added.

“Media Trust Limited condemns this unlawful act and calls on the military authorities to release the 2 reporters arrested in Maiduguri and return the dozens of computers that were taken from our newsroom. We also like to thank our colleagues in the media and all others who have been calling and supporting us in our hour of need. We also appreciate the efforts of some government officials who insist that there is a better way of handling relations with the media,” the statement said.

However,  the federal government has directed the military to vacate the premises of the newspaper.

Presidential spokesman, Shehu Garuba, said in tweet last night that the order has been complied with.

“Issues between the military and the newspaper as they affect the coverage of the war in the North-east will be resolved through dialogue,” he added.

In a related development, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, has condemned in strong terms, the forceful closure of Daily Trust Newspapers’ head office in Abuja and the organisation’s Maiduguri office by military personnel.

According to a statement by the Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade,  senior editorial staff of the organisation confirmed the military onslaught on the media establishment, stating that staff had been ordered out of the premises, with laptops and computers seized and operations halted.

“No reason, he said, was given for the action. IPC considers this development as a fresh threat to freedom of the press as well as the freedom and individual liberties of journalists and other media professionals working in Daily Trust. The action of the military is also a threat to democracy with the presidential elections, less than two months away.

The military is bound by the laws of the land and cannot in any circumstance be allowed to resort to extra judicial measures no matter its grievances,” Arogundade explained.

U.S. Africa Command is hoping to finish two new air bases in 2019, one in Niger and one in Somalia, to stage operations against militants in the region, like reported by airforcetimes.com.

Niger Air Base 201, a future hub for armed drones and other aircraft, was supposed to be completed this year. The region’s difficult weather and harsh conditions are pushing completion back to the middle of 2019, officials told Air Force Times.

Air Base 201 will eventually house the U.S. armed drone mission in Niger that currently operates out of Niger’s capital, Niamey.

In the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, a former Soviet-built air base called Camp Baledogle is being refurbished and converted to better handle the evolving multinational mission in the country.

“The runway repairs were just contracted this fall, and are not scheduled to be completed until later in 2019,” Air Force Maj. Karl Wiest, an AFRICOM spokesman, said.

AFRICOM confirmed to Air Force Times that it operates the facilities at Camp Baledogle alongside African partners, but remained scant on details regarding what aircraft are planned to fly from there.

Camp Baledogle’s runway will be 10,092 feet lomg, 140 feet wide and made of asphalt, according to Mike Andrews, the public affairs director for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, which executed the military construction contract. Those dimensions will be able to support virtually all aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory.

“The runway is still being utilized for limited operations,” Wiest said. “Also, there are some other projects underway at Camp Baledogle, such as mitigation efforts to improve camp drainage as a result of rainfall events, improvements to force protection measures, as well as regular camp refurbishment resulting from normal wear and tear of facilities.”

Somalia has become a growth point for AFRICOM, as the combatant command conducts airstrikes and ground operations against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants in the country.

The U.S. has carried out more than 30 airstrikes this year in Somalia. American involvement in the country has grown since President Donald Trump early in his term approved expanded operations against al-Shabab. Since then, two U.S. military personnel have been killed in Somalia.

The Pentagon fields about 7,200 troops in Africa, but plans to cut about 10 percent of those forces over the next few years in an effort to realign priorities in an era of great power competition. AFRICOM officials do not expect those cuts to impact the new air bases.