Draft:Timbuktu Triangle
The Timbuktu Triangle, not to be confused with Timbuktu, Mali is an enclave of Borno State, Nigeria. The enclave is one of the 4 strong holds of Boko Haram and Islamic State - West Africa Province (ISWAP). The other three are the Sambisa Forest, the Mandara Mountain and the Lake Chad Region.
The term "Timbuktu Triangle" was adopted by the Niger-Nigeria militaries to refer to the axis that runs from Maiduguri northwest to Dankalwa in Benisheikh, the headquarters of Kaga Local Government Area; and from there it goes south and ends at Dambam. From Dambam the line then runs north to connect with Maiduguri, forming a triangle.
Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists use the land covered with thick, tall grass and bushes as hideouts, camps and bases of operations.
History
For the past 13 years, the so-called "Tumbuktu Triangle" has been under the influence of Boko Haram, and ISWAP militants.
terrorists from Boko Haram, destroyed several power transmission towers in late 2020 to disconnect Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, from the national grid of Nigeria for over 17 months. They continued to thwart all efforts by the authorities to restore the energy facilities through attacks, explosions and further damage to the facility.
The Triangle was largely cleared in 2021 by Nigerian troops. Many camps and shelters within the triangle were destroyed. But later the terrorists returned and regained control over the unoccupied triangle once again.
April 8, 2024. The Nigerian Army eliminated 6 terrorists as a result of an intelligence operation in the Timbuktu Triangle. 5 AK-47 assault rifles and 762 rounds of ammunition were seized. The operation was a response to a major terrorist attack in Kamuya on April 4th. On the same day (April 8th), Boko Haram terrorists ambushed a Nigerian convoy on the Biu – Buratai – Buni – Yadi road (on the border of Yobe and Borno states), resulting in the death of a lieutenant, driver, gunner and 4 other soldiers. The soldiers were heading to Damaturu to refuel.
January 24, 2025, Nigerian troops launched a ground offensive on a stronghold of ISWAP militants in a desert in Borno and Yobe states. [1]
On January 26, 2025. A convoy of Nigerian Troops was attacked by an ISWAP suicide bomber, in Borno State, Nigeria. The attacker drove a truck full of explosives into the convoy in a Forested area, at midnight. The attack killed 27 Nigerian soldiers, the suicide bomber, and wounded many other Nigerian soldiers.
On January 27th, just one day after the ISWAP suicide bombing.