Nigeria ordered the re-opening of the international airport at Maiduguri, the northern city that’s been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram, as the government seeks to display its progress against the militants.
The airport has been closed since December 2013 when a Boko Haram attack at a nearby airbase destroyed three military helicopters. Authorities will permit flights to resume because of a recent improvement in the security situation, Alhaji Zannah Mustafa, the deputy governor of Borno State, told reporters on Tuesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the airport will open. Local carrier Med-View Airlines said it will start flights from Maiduguri to destinations including the capital, Abuja, and the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The measure comes after a spate of attacks in the two weeks since Nigeria’s new President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in, after being elected on a pledge of swiftly crushing the jihadist group. The army, with help from neighbors including Niger and Chad, has reclaimed some territory from the jihadists in recent months.
The latest attack came in the northeastern village of Huyum, where a raid on Monday left at least 15 people dead, according to witnesses.
Boko Haram has been fighting to impose Islamic rule in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, in a campaign centered in the country’s northeast that has left thousands dead.
Buhari has moved the command center for the anti-jihadist operation to Maiduguri. The move will mark a turning of the tide in the fight against Boko Haram, army chiefs told reporters on Tuesday.
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