President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the deployment of 1,000 troops to tackle armed gangs that have reportedly taken over a forest in Zamfara State.

The President gave the directive when he visited Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, to flag off the 2016 Army Day Celebrations.

According to the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, about 1,000 troops would be deployed immediately, with more joining later to tackle the armed gangs who have been terrorizing villages in some local governments of the state.

Residents have been killed and others forced to flee their homes as a result of the violence and there are fears that fighters from Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, may have joined the gangs in Zamfara.

Nigerian troops are currently engaged in clearance operations against Boko Haram terrorists in the North east but other security challenges stare the country in the face, including the incessant cases of herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustling, militancy in the Niger Delta as well as kidnappings.

It would be recalled that suspected herdsmen have killed hundreds of Nigerians in Benue, Enugu and Plateau states, and have continued to threaten lives of Nigerians in these areas.

President Buhari had ordered an investigation into the clashes between herdsmen and indigenes of communities in Benue and Enugu States, while also ordering security agencies to bring the carnage to an end.