The West African allied forces have launched what could pass for a final push on Boko Haram as they stormed Sambisa forest, killing a good number of the insurgents.

The forces are soldiers drawn from Nigeria, Chad, Niger Republic and Camer­oon.

In an operation yesterday, military planes bombarded Sambisa Forest in Borno State, to incapacitate insurgents be­fore ground troops moved in.

In the attack, Chadian troops of the allied forces killed scores of Boko Haram fighters in a battle in Gambaru yesterday.

According to a statement by the Chadian military, in N’Djamena, Boko Haram militants had launched a pre-dawn raid in the town, in a bid to overwhelm the soldiers, who had pushed them out of the border town. They were repelled and routed.

The insurgents were pushed out of Gamboru, which lies on the Nigerian side of the border with Cameroon, in the eastern fringe of Borno State, after which ground troops crossed over the bridge marking the frontier, after sustained bom­bardment. One Chadian sol­dier was killed in the opera­tion, while eight others were wounded. Three Boko Haram vehicles were destroyed, and one was seized.

•Excerpted from a Daily Sun report. Photo shows battle-ready soldiers.