We enter the military plane from a ramp in the back and once on board, we write our names on the handwritten manifest, hoping this trip to northern Nigeria will answer a lot of questions. Are Boko Haram insurgents still strong in northern Nigeria? Are there as few military casualties as they say? Have civilians been killed? At an impromptu prss conference, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade says definitively that civilians have not been killed, despite accusations from international organizations that Nigerian security forces are prone to shoot before arresting, and to make arrests without charges or trials. “Anyone that was killed in a camp cannot call themselves a civilian. Most of the camps are populated definitely by terrorists and they’re the objects of this operation.” Other questions he says he cannot answer, like how many soldiers or insurgents have been killed. “The operation is still on and the information is being collated," he said. "In many of the locations we are still mopping up and until we finish mopping up it is wrong to give you any inaccurate figure because we know the implications of such figures to the international community.” We do get a glimpse into what Nigerian soldiers are facing when they take us to a campsite outside the Kirenowa village. m.voanews/a/1677386.html
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 09:52:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015