Cameroon military says Boko Haram showing signs of weakening

Cameroon military has launched an operation code named “Tentacle” which the army leadership say it’s the last operation to clean the remnants of Boko Haram militants operating in the Cameroonian and Nigerian communities of Djibrili and Zamga.

Cameroon Concord’s military informant revealed that Operation Tentacle” began on March 16, 2016 and has been supported by elements of the Joint Multinational Force (FMM). The troops commanded by Brigadier General Jacob Kodji, leader of the 4th Joint Military Region and commander of Operation Emergence 4 have reportedly killed 20 jihadist fighters and captured 12 others.

The army seized heavy weapons including Boko Haram’s major war arsenal that was stationed in the locality. We were also reliably informed that Nigerian troops are conducting a similar operation on the other side of the border. This major operation comes after those of Ngoshe and Kumshe- that witnessed the destruction of two Boko Haram bases by the Cameroon army some few weeks ago. Cameroon military sources hinted that Boko Haram jihadists are showing signs of weakening. Our source added that the terrorists are now apparently scattered amid sporadic attacks from the armies of both Nigeria and Cameroon and are operating uncoordinated.

Ever since the expeditions of Ngoshe and Kumshe, clashes have become almost non-existent. Lieutenant Colonel Leopold Emile Nlate Ebale, Operations Bureau Chief of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR was quoted by Cameroon’s national daily newspaper Cameroon Tribune as saying "Before there was a kamikaze attack every two or three days, but after the last operations in Ngoshe and Kumshe, we have gone through three weeks without a suicide attack ".

Under the direct supervision of Lieutenant Colonel Felix Cheka, the Cameroon army has installed a base known as South Zone Operation Alpha in the city of Kolofata that has painfully suffered repeated assaults from the jihadists. Lieutenant Colonel Felix Cheka and his men currently control an area of 2500 km2, covering all of Mayo-Tsanaga and Mayo-Sava divisions.

The Rapid Intervention Battalion has also opened another base in Kerawa, located at about seven kilometers from Kolofata where the Nigerian Islamic sect stepped up attacks some few months ago. The facility is called the 4th Light Response Unit (ULI). The South of the Far North region precisely at Achigachia is now being protected by the famous Koutaba legion including the Field Artillery Regiment from Nkongsamba.

Cameroon military spokesman, Colonel Didier Badjeck, during a recent press briefing noted that both Emergence 4 and Alpha-supported operations are intertwined and run in accordance with the strategic vision of the staff armed represented in the area by the commander of RMIA 4. Colonel Badjeck observed that “Now it is no longer simply to prevent the infiltration of Boko Haram fighters and to cut off their networks but also to destroy their bases used for training, design, and implementation”.

The Cameroon army is now equipped with modern war machinery like drones that can scan the conflict zone. Military cooperation with France and the United States has contributed effectively to intelligence gathering which has been used for successful operations. According to Lieutenant Colonel Leopold Emile Nlate Ebale every major operation was preceded by several weeks of preparations focused mainly on intelligence information