MALKOHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Boko Haram is fracturing as shortages of weapons and fuel foment tensions between its foot soldiers and leaders, women rescued from the Islamist jihadi fighters by Nigerian troops told Reuters.

The group abducted an estimated 2,000 women and girls last year as it sought to carve out an Islamic state in the northeast of Africa’s biggest economy. The army has freed nearly 700 in the past week as it advances on Boko Haram's last stronghold in the vast Sambisa forest.

The militants began complaining to their captives about lacking guns and ammunition last month, two of the women said, and many were reduced to carrying sticks while some of their vehicles were either broken down or lacked gasoline.

A 45-year old mother of two, Aisha Abbas, who was taken from Dikwa in April, said the fighters all had guns at first but recently, only some carried them.

Even the wife of their captors' leader, Adam Bitri, openly criticized him and subsequently fled, two of the women said, with one describing Bitri as short and fat with a beard.

Of 275 freed captives brought to a government-run camp for internally displaced people in the Malkohi hamlet on the outskirts of Adamawa state capital, Yola, only 61 were over 18, and many small children hobbled around visibly malnourished.

The women said they were kept inside, occasionally brought food and sometimes beaten severely. The children were left to run around or do errands for Boko Haram while those of the fighters were trained to shoot guns.

“One evening in April, Boko Haram followers stood before us and said ‘Our leaders don’t want to give us enough fuel and guns and now the soldiers are encroaching on us in Sambisa. We will leave you.’” one of the women, 18-year old Binta Ibrahim from northern Adamawa state said.

“They threatened us but after they went we were happy and prayed the soldiers would come and save us.”

CRUSHED

The women said once the militants spotted two helicopters circling at noon on the day of their rescue, they began trying to sell the women for up to 2,000 naira (about $10) each. Towards evening, as the army approached, the captives refused to flee with Boko Haram fighters, who began stoning them but then ran away.

"We heard bullets flying around ... we lay on the floor. Some of the women were crushed (by army vehicles) and others wounded by bullets. Eighteen were killed. We counted them, they included infants," Salamatu Mohamed from the Damboa area in Borno said. The defence ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Mohamed said she gave birth while in captivity and had trouble feeding her newborn as there was not enough food.

Boko Haram seemed almost unstoppable and fast becoming a regional threat after it gained control of an area larger than Belgium last year and increased cross-border attacks on Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Its six-year-old insurgency has killed thousands and forced 1.5 million people from their homes and the group caused a global outcry when it abducted over 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.

The women said the men frequently threatened to sell them or bring them to Boko Haram’s elusive leader, Abubakar Shekau, deep in the forest. Nigeria has claimed to have killed him several times. Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade told Reuters the man was not a priority target.

Hanatu Musa, a 22-year old mother kidnapped in June from Gwoza in Borno state, quoted the fighters as saying their leader had deceived them into fighting and killing in the name of religion.

While the Nigerian army, which launched its counter-attack in January, is confident it has the group cornered in the Sambisa nature reserve, a final push to clear them from the area has been curtailed by landmines.
None of the women interviewed had seen any of the Chibok girls, but Abbas said fighters who travelled from a camp in Sambisa where they were held to source food would describe the situation.

"They said the Chibok girls were married off this year. Some sold to slavery, then others (militants) each married two or four of the girls," Abbas said.
http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-boko-haram-disarray-government-forces-advance-072433220.html
Cc lalasticlala

Hopefully

Whatever has a beginning surely must end, been months since we've seen the sneering face of that animal Shekau in those despicable videos, Kudos to GEJ And the much maligned Nigerian Military

May be ooooh

Hopefully this will be the end of them. It hurts cos this should have happened years before but that's an over flogged issue.

The way forward now is to prevent a build up of the situation that causes them to go into arms. Curb unemployment, look at the proliferation of small arms, watch the preachers of hate, regional cooperation should be encouraged and a military that responds swiftly to issues like this should be encouraged.

I pray they are crushed finally. Government should learn to tackle groups like this early enough.

Mynd44:
Hopefully this will be the end of them. It hurts that this should have happened year before but that's an over flogged issue.

The way forward now is to prevent a build up of the situation that causes them to go into arms. Curb unemployment, look at the proliferation of small arms, watch the preachers of hate, regional cooperation should be encouraged and a military that responds swiftly to issues like this should be encouraged.

True that, as long as unemployment remains rampant, there would always be a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists, our intelligence services have to ensure they are totally unable to rebuild the sect from scratch

Until that bastard shecow is slayed and our chibok girls rescued, this is still the beginning of the end for them.

The issue of Boko Haram is gradually coming to an end.. Thank you Lord for this great victory...

TheImp:

True that, as long as unemployment remains rampant, there would always be a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists, our intelligence services have to ensure they are totally unable to rebuild the sect from scratch

Yes and sometimes, even the well employed might be blinded by hate preachers and that's where our intelligence officers have to work. To find these people and deal with them

I miss boko haram boys.

they are also witnessing CHANGE.dat word is so heavy so dont blaame dem.

The wicked shall not find rest till they are destroyed. Yes, their end is here!!

they have gotten the mandate they have been fighting for,you can only see them again when a southerner take the number one seat

in warfare, whenever those factors arises, it is a clear sign that the war is gradually coming to an end. adieu Boko Haram

We pray its the end of those brainwashed bastàrds

Unless Boko Haram's ideology and blood-letting mayhem unleashed on Nigerians were the ideas of some evil elements up North to destabilize GEJ's government, I'm sad to say this, i don't see those devils disappearing soon. This is some kind of religion, a way of life. A culture. It'll be hard to kill all of these bastàrds in a short time. But if Buhari is determined, along with the most of the work done by GEJ albeit late, he can pull it off and destroy these demons.

boss1310:
[s] they have gotten the mandate they have been fighting for,you can only see them again when a southerner take the number one seat again [/b]

BH was planned by Jonadauncee

sinizia:
Unless Boko Haram's ideology and blood-letting mayhem unleashed on Nigerians were the ideas of some evil elements up North to destabilize GEJ's government, I'm sad to say this, i don't see those devils disappearing soon. This is some kind of religion, a way of life. A culture. It'll be hard to kill all of these bastàrds in a short time. But if Buhari is determined, along with the most of the work done by GEJ albeit late, he can pull it off and destroy these demons.

We hope so.

The fact that GEJ was in the positon to have done something about BH and could have done something about BH decided to wait weeks near the elections to do something have permanently earned him a place in the hall of infamy! Never again should such myopic, self serving and divisive incompetent leader ever be allowed to govern!

Rilwayne001:


BH was planned by Jonadauncee

yet he didnt leave them in place to destroy the incoming government like they destroyed his?

boss1310:

yet he didnt leave them in place to destroy the incoming government like the destroyed his?

Who destroyed his administration??

The Boko Haram terror gang is merely the armed wing of northern Nigeria's Born-to-Rule network, whose abiding duty is to ensure that anarchy reigns whenever a NON-northern president is voted into office. The agenda of making Nigeria "ungovernable" during the regime of Jonathan Goodluck has been implemented with great success, with the result that Jonathan Goodluck has been sent packing from office.

Now that Buhari, the point-man of the Born-to-Rule folks, has been rigged into power as president, using "creative accounting" of Nigeria's voting population figures, the contract assigned to the Boko Haram terror gang has been fulfilled and completed, ensuring once again that those all-important oil drilling leases are renewed ONLY for select members of the northern Nigerian crude oil mafia in 2016, when the leases for the old drilling rights are due to expire.

With the oil fields again under exclusively norther Nigerian control, generous servings of petroleum export income will be allocated to the leadership of the Boko Haram terror gang, thus essentially keeping them on a permanent "retainer", where their foot soldiers can be re-armed and called into action the instant any southern Nigerian president is again voted into office.

Simultaneously, the justified compenasation paid by the Johathan Goodluck administration to the Niger Delta communities will be stopped the instant Buhari commences his RULE, since the Niger Delta inhabitants will be expected to assume the role of docile conquered and colonized economic slaves, whose interests must take back seat to those of the Boko Haram terror gang so loved by the northern Nigerian crude oil diverting cartel.

This is in essence the "Change" promised to Nigeria. Love it or leave it, y'all.

Some section in the North were not happy that Jonathan didn't honour the zoning arrangement of PDP and when he won, these vultures made Nigeria ungovernable and the result is evident.

Knowing the above, a responsible government would have employed every avenues towards neutralising any effort to destabilise this government but instead of Jonathan to be decisive and fight these vultures and their boko boys, he took the back seat and assumed the position 'e no concern me, na North matter, make una dey kill una self'. The government played politics with security wasting precious lives in the process. I once said that if Jonathan doesn't end bokoharam, bokoharam would end him.

It is evidently clear that Jonathan started doing what was expected of him few weeks to elections, hoping to use that to gather votes but unfortunately, no sane people would be stupid enough to return an individual who allowed killings of innocent Nigerians under his watch.

I expect GMB to end bokoharam because the corrupt officials in the corridors of power that he plans to send to jail might use these vultures to cause harm to his new government as bokoharam seems to lack focus and ideology. They fought Jonathan because the North felt they hadn't completed their tenure in the zoning arrangement and would definitely fight GMB over corruption. If you fight corruption, corruption will fight back. At the end the masses are the worst hit. The General should be at the top of his game.

Enough said!

boss1310:
they have gotten the mandate they have been fighting for,you can only see them again when a southerner take the number one seat again

Mtcheeew so that's the best u can get out of your brain??

Yes it could be if they aren't allowed to regroup.

Those sponsoring them has won election nah... So no need for BH again.. Boko haram OYO..# justsaying#