Backed by airstrikes, the Nigerian military has managed to push Boko Haram back on all fronts in and around Borno state. The state’s second-largest city of Bama was latest to fall to Nigerian forces, a strategic town between the state capital Maiduguri and the town of Gwoza, where Boko Haram fighters are said to be assembling for a counterattack.

According to the Nigerian military, just three local governments remain under Boko Haram control – Abadam, Kala-Balge, and Gwoza. At the start of 2015 a total of 20 local governments were held by the militant group, placing an area the equivalent size of Belgium under its control.

There have been several reports of mercenaries spotted operating alongside Nigerian military forces in Borno state. Quartz has reported that mercenaries from Russia, Ukraine, and South Africa are engaged in fighting Boko Haram in the area around Maiduguri. According to Chris Stein of Voice of America, these mercenaries are present in a technical capacity, helping the Nigerian military operate some of its newly-purchased equipment. Sky News reports that the mercenaries are indeed engaged in combat, and some even belonged to South Africa’s notorious apartheid-era 32 Battalion.