What Joe Ga referred to as "regaining the ground" was just an offhand remark!
As daylight fully broke, the Nigerien Defence Forces began to slowly move into the small town and set up evacuation corridors for civilians, the Boko Haram fighters began to lay down their weapons, hoping to blend in with the civilians and slip away.
The 300-strong force from the Nigerien Defence Ministry was not an overwhelming presence, but they moved methodically, advancing slowly under the cover provided by French forces and Team E snipers.
Even when encountering the enemy, they were not perturbed. With snipers from the rear pinning down the enemy, groups of about a dozen soldiers armed with RPGs would spring forth to "greet" the enemy with rocket-propelled grenades.
If they encountered particularly tenacious foes, they could also call upon helicopters and Big Beak Birds in the sky.
