ICC Note: Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari claims the military is winning advances in the country’s northeast against Boko Haram despite reports tallying nearly 900 people killed in the crisis since Buhari assumed office. Buhari’s confidence stems from word that the ,ilitant Islamist terror group and its operatives have become limited to the confines of the Sambisa forest. Boko Haram has historically targeted Christians for murder, forced conversion, and rape.
9/8/15 Nigeria (AFP) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said great strides had been made in the fight against Boko Haram, rounding on critics lamenting a lack of progress against the insurgents.
“I think if you have been listening hard enough or if you have been to the northeast (of Nigeria), the military is really gaining ground,” the 72-year-old former military ruler said on a visit to Ghana.
Buhari, who has made defeating the Islamists his priority since taking office in late May, said the rebels were “virtually limited” to the remote Sambisa Forest area of Borno state, in northeast Nigeria.
Many of the 2.1 million displaced by six years of violence have begun returning home, he added.
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