Nigerian and West African forces have managed to destroy several Boko Haram camps in Borno State in recent months [Xinhua]
Nigeria has appealed to the United Nations for help in negotiating the return of more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York Thursday that the Islamist terrorist group recently indicated a willingness to release about 50 girls in exchange for Boko Haram fighters held by government forces.
A number of previous attempts to do a prisoner exchange failed in recent months.
In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school in the town of Chibok in the northeastern state of Borno, considered the birthplace and strategic center of the terrorist group.
Fifty-seven girls subsequently managed to escape but it is believed that at least 200 still remain in Boko Haram custody. There are fears some of them may have been forced into suicide operations.
Meanwhile, terrorism continues to plague the oil-rich African nation.
Earlier, two Boko Haram attacks in the Sanda district and Kwamjilari village (near Chibok) in Borno State left at least 14 civilians dead and several wounded.
Three soldiers were also wounded in the attacks that separately targeted a commercial convoy in Sanda and Christian churchgoers in Kwamjilari.
The Nigerian military, in conjunction with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) established to destroy Boko Haram, on Thursday announced that it had recaptured the Malam Fatori border town on the shores of Lake Chad.
Both Boko Haram and the MNJTF acknowledged that the fighting was fierce with heavy casualties sustained on both sides.
A military communique said that Nigerian Air Force fighter jets took part in the recapture operation along the border with the Niger Republic., as they came out reinforced around the border communities with Niger Republic.
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The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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