Piqued by the recent setbacks in its battle
against Boko Haram terrorists, especially with the loss of Mubi and other towns
in the North-east, the Nigerian military has launched "Operation No
Mercy" to deal with the marauding terrorists.
The military, THISDAY gathered, would be more
decisive and unsparing in their approach at dealing with the Boko Haram menace
to restore the country's territorial integrity.
According to an intelligence source, the military
will launch an all-out operation against the insurgents and other criminal
elements, including those aiding and abetting them.
Citing how the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS),
Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, was maligned for his aggressive approach to
combating insurgency, which was effective, the source explained that the
constant intervention from the political class, as well as barrage of
criticisms from the Amnesty International and other human rights groups, had
been impacting negatively on the military operations.
However, the source revealed that with the recent
gains made by insurgents in the North-east, the military was launching
"Operation No Mercy" to reclaim occupied territories.
"They have already started, meaning that the
moment you are being suspected and later confirmed of being a terrorist or
their sponsors you are gone,” said the source, adding, “you cannot
harbour criminals, terrorists that harm the country and expect the military to
spare you.”
The intelligence personnel, who did not want to
be named, noted: "All these political solutions and ceasefire could have
worked if we are dealing with people who are sensible but government has now
come to realise that our military need to do their job. These terrorists don’t
understand the language of negotiation.
"They could have allowed Gen. Ihejirika and the military then to do what they had to do and we wouldn't have been in this situation today.
"Now what we have is a situation whereby the
military is afraid of what the international community will do, what human
rights groups championed by Amnesty International will say and the reaction of
our political class that has been in the habit of criticising and harassing the
armed forces, so-called leaders who will wake up and start criticising the
operations for no good reason. The moment we do away with sentiments we will
begin to see result.”
Also speaking, a senior military officer assured
that the military was determined to dislodge the terrorists who have captured
many territories in the North-east, including Vintim, the hometown of the Chief
of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.
The officer also allayed fears that the Nigerian
Air Force (NAF) may not be relevant in what is likely to be an urban combat
with Boko Haram to avoid high collateral damages and civilian casualties should
the terrorists use them as human shield.
"Air force will still continue to carry out
the operation in conjunction with the ground forces. One thing you should know
is that the air force does not just enter into any battle or warfare. There are
always coordinates from the ground and in this case, they will be directed to bomb
or destroy concentration of terrorists.
“Again, people say that Boko Haram has captured
territories like Mubi. That is not completely true because it is not as if they
have occupied every part of the town, even though their presence is being
felt.”
A soldier involved in the combat operations in
the North-east told THISDAY how the insurgents used military vehicles and
uniforms to deceive the soldiers before opening fire suddenly and causing so
many fatalities.
"They wore military uniforms to camouflage and
before you know it they started firing suddenly,” he said. “These people use
our military vehicles and uniforms and pass through the checkpoints to deceive
us.
“We have asked the authorities to either maintain
a strictly controlled camo or change to an entirely new one but what you have
is array of camos being allowed with some using desert, trees, and bomb camo.
That is the problem we have had and have been pressing them to stick to one.”
Speaking on the role of the air force in the
impending onslaught, the military personnel said; “They (air force) have gone
for Alpha Jets and F-7's. Even though they may not use air power to attack
built up areas it would be useful in scaring and picking out the terrorists.
"Mainly the urban warfare is the work of the
striker and counter-terrorist force. We intend to surround the towns but what
we have in our hands now is urban warfare. We will cut off the different routes
that the terrorists might want to escape from while our strike force take them
on inside. We are going to strike them down."
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Saturday released
another 125 persons who were suspected of having links with the Islamic
fundamentalist group, Boko Haram. This followed the earlier release of 42
persons who were investigated and found to be having no link with the
fundamentalist group. The 42 persons were released on Thursday to Governor
Kashim Shettima.
Handling over the new set of 125 persons to the
governor, the spokesman of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Col.
Sani Usman said 254 persons were intercepted fleeing from the state after
attack on Boko Haram strongholds in September.
He said the arrest was made in Biu on September 23 and after proper investigation 125 men now handed to the governor were found to have no link with Boko Haram. He however said those who have been investigated and found wanting would be prosecuted in the court of law
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