Cape Town - Almost 70 members of the Islamist terrorist group
Boko Haram have surrendered in north-eastern Nigeria.
The insurgents gave themselves up over the past three weeks after
repeated air and artillery bombardments as well as ambushes conducted
by soldiers, army spokesman Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement on
Thursday.
"The relentless offensive forced many of them to surrender to the
troops," said Nwachukwu.
The captured insurgents were now "undergoing a rehabilitation and
deradicalization," the spokesman added.
Boko Haram poses a steady threat to communities in the north-east of
Nigeria and has also launched offensives in neighbouring Chad, Niger
and Cameroon.
The group's goal is to enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic
law, or sharia.
Since 2009, tens of thousands of people have died at the hands of the
Sunni fundamentalists in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 2.7 million people in
the region have fled their homes due to Boko Haram.