Operation FANSAN YAMMA launches major offensive against terrorists in North West

By Imisioluwa Afunmiso

The Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA (JTF NW OPFY), has launched Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV, a coordinated offensive aimed at intensifying pressure on terrorists and armed criminal elements operating across the North West.

The Theatre Command said the operation combines ground and air operations to degrade terrorist capabilities, disrupt their movements and logistics, and prevent them from establishing operational footholds in communities across the region.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, the offensive has already recorded operational activities in Katsina and Zamfara states.

In Katsina State, troops of Sector 2 on Wednesday, August 12, conducted a clearance operation around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area.

The operation reportedly mounted significant pressure on the terrorists, forcing them to abandon their positions and withdraw into surrounding bushes.

The statement added that the clearance operation remains ongoing in the general area.

Similarly, 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.

The military said the strikes neutralised scores of terrorists, while survivors abandoned their motorcycles and fled into surrounding bushes.

The Air Component subsequently acquired and engaged the fleeing terrorists, according to the statement.

The Theatre Command said a key component of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV is the containment and dismantling of the Lakurawa terrorist network across the North West.

It said the operation is designed to prevent the infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria, while denying the group access to border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of enclaves.

The military also said the operation would target terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and the Kainji Lake National Park, with the aim of preventing criminal elements from using the areas as platforms to project violence into adjoining communities and other parts of the North West.

The Theatre Command reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining sustained pressure on terrorist and criminal elements, securing civilian communities and protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

It said the operation would continue to deny terrorists the opportunity to regroup, reinforce their ranks or establish operational footholds across the region.