Nigeria says army has killed 300 bandits in north-western state of Zamfara

Nigeria's military says it has killed approximately 300 armed bandits in a major operation in Zamfara state, one of the regions worst affected by the criminal violence that has displaced millions and created what aid agencies describe as one of the world's most neglected humanitarian crises.

The operation, which involved ground forces supported by air strikes, targeted several bandit camps in the forests that have become sanctuaries for criminal groups engaged in kidnapping, cattle rustling and extortion. The military said it had also recovered weapons, ammunition and stolen livestock.

Independent verification of the military's claims is difficult because the affected areas are largely inaccessible to journalists and aid workers. Previous claims by the Nigerian military about the scale of its operations have sometimes been contradicted by local residents and human rights groups, who have also accused the security forces of committing abuses during counter-insurgency operations.

The violence in northwestern Nigeria is distinct from the jihadist insurgency in the northeast of the country, where Boko Haram and its offshoots have been fighting for more than fifteen years. The northwestern conflict is primarily driven by criminal groups rather than ideology, but the distinction has become blurred as some bandit groups have adopted jihadist rhetoric and tactics.

The humanitarian consequences are severe. More than 2 million people have been displaced by the violence in the northwest, and thousands of schools have been closed because of the risk of kidnapping. The United Nations has described the situation as a protection crisis and has called for increased humanitarian access, but funding for the response remains severely inadequate.