Boko Haram Claims Nigerian Army Run Away During Shootout

Boko Haram Claims Nigerian Army Run Away During Shootout

Abubakar Shekau, leader of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Tuesday claimed in a video that Nigerian soldiers had retreated from the ongoing military offensive against terrorism and that his fighters had sustained little damage so far.

“Since we started this ongoing war which they call a state of emergency…in some instances soldiers who faced us turned and ran. They dumped their weapons and escaped.” Shekau said a new video.

The video marks the first public comments from Shekau since the military offensive which started on May 15 following the declaration of emergency rule in the stronghold of the sect, Borno, as well as Adamawa and Yobe states.

Shekau also reportedly called for foreign Islamists to join the fight against Nigeria in the video which AFP claimed was in its possession.

The AFP reports thus: Shekau’s whereabouts cannot be determined in the video, in which he is shown seated while dressed in camouflage with a turban, an AK-47 at his side.

His comments contradict statements from the military, which has claimed much success during the offensive, including the destruction of Boko Haram camps and dozens of arrests.

It has been impossible to verify the claims of both the Nigerian military and Boko Haram independently, with the military having cut mobile phone service in much of the country’s northeast and access to some locations highly restricted.

Shekau said: “We call to us our brethren in these countries I mentioned. Oh! Our brethren, come to us...we will not stop the kidnap of your women and children until you set free our women and children, and our brethren.”

In the video, Shekau showed vehicles and weapons he said were seized from Nigerian soldiers.