Ten women believed to be family members of suspected terrorists and 24 children have surrendered to Nigerian Army troops in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State after clashes between rival terrorist factions in the area.
The group surrendered at about 4:30pm on August 19 to troops of the 112 Task Force Battalion deployed in Mafa under Operation HADIN KAI and Operation DESERT SANITY V.
Security analyst Zagazola Makama said the group consisted of 10 women aged between 20 and 47 and 24 children between the ages of one and 13. The circumstances of their surrender followed fighting between rival terrorist groups operating around the area.
The women and children reportedly fled the Dukumba terrorist enclave after violence broke out between the factions. They abandoned the enclave with the children and moved towards the Nigerian Army troops in search of safety.
Military authorities subsequently profiled and documented those who surrendered. The process is expected to help establish their identities and provide security agencies with more information about how they came to be in the terrorist-controlled area.
The surrender comes amid continuing military operations against terrorist groups in Borno, a state that has remained at the centre of Nigeria’s long-running fight against insurgency in the North-East.
Makama said the wider security situation across the theatre remained calm but unpredictable. He added that troops maintained satisfactory morale and operational readiness as operations continued.
The latest development highlights the complex humanitarian and security challenges faced in communities affected by terrorism, where women and children can become trapped in areas controlled by armed groups and are often forced to flee when rival factions clash.
