Operation FANSAN YAMMA Launches Fresh Offensive Against Terrorists in North-West
The Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, has launched a major offensive, codenamed Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, to intensify pressure on terrorist and armed criminal networks operating across the North-West.
The Theatre Command said the simultaneous ground and air offensive was designed to degrade terrorist capabilities, disrupt their movements and logistics, and prevent them from establishing new footholds in communities across the region.
In a statement on Thursday, the JTF North West Media Information Officer, Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, said the operation was being conducted across identified threat areas in the North-Western states.
He said the offensive was already yielding operational pressure on terrorist elements, citing recent operations in Katsina and Zamfara states.
In Katsina State, troops of Sector 2 conducted a clearance operation on August 12 around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area.
According to Danja, the operation placed significant pressure on the terrorists, forcing them to abandon their positions and withdraw into surrounding bushes.
He said clearance operations were ongoing in the general area.
In Zamfara State, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA carried out precision air strikes following credible intelligence on the movement and convergence of terrorists on motorcycles in Anka Local Government Area.
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Danja said the strikes neutralised scores of terrorists and forced surviving elements to abandon their motorcycles and flee into surrounding bushes.
He added that the air asset subsequently acquired and engaged the fleeing terrorists.
Forces target Lakurawa network
A major focus of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, according to the Theatre Command, is the containment and dismantling of the Lakurawa terrorist network across the North-West.
The operation is intended to prevent Lakurawa elements from infiltrating and reinforcing their networks in Nigeria, while denying them access to border areas for movement, logistics and the establishment of operational enclaves.
The JTF said the offensive would also target terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and the Kainji Lake National Park.
The objective, it said, was to prevent terrorist elements from exploiting the area as a platform for projecting violence into adjoining communities and other parts of the North-West.
The Theatre Command described the launch of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV as part of its proactive and sustained response to evolving terrorist and criminal threats in the region.
It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting civilian communities, safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity and denying terrorist groups the opportunity to regroup, reinforce their ranks or establish operational footholds.
The operation is expected to continue across multiple locations in the North-West as security forces sustain efforts to disrupt terrorist networks and restore security in affected communities.
By PRNigeria
