Nigeria, Nov. 22 -- More than 2,000 Boko Haram fighters and their families have moved from the Timbuktu Triangle to the Sambisa Forest, according to security officials and community sources in the Lake Chad region.

The relocation started on Thursday as the Nigerian military increased preparations for a major clearance operation targeting the Timbuktu Triangle and other insurgent hideouts around the Lake Chad area.

An eyewitness, who requested anonymity, said the fighters, along with their wives and children, fled to Sambisa Forest to avoid the upcoming military offensive and to join other Boko Haram factions already based there.

Another intelligence source also confirmed that some fighters from the same area were heading toward Dutsen ...