By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), has cleared the air on the controversial killing of innocent civilians, at Ligarma village in Kaduna State.
Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, in a statement on Tuesday, explained that terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population to evade military onslaught.
According to the statement, “On 3 Dec 2023, at about 2200hrs and based on ontoward activities by terrorist. The NA UAV detachment observed movement of terrorist at Ligarma, a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State. Aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.
The observed advance of the terrorist that were gathered posted a threat to key infrastructure within reach of the ontoward activities. Accordingly, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorist from unleashing terror on innocent civilians”.
Gen. Buba, said, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorist.
The military, he said, views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy.
Such tragedies, he added, are needless and unwanted, stressing that the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.
“One such measures taken by the military is to continually gives precise instructions to communities. For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorist and their sympathisers. These instructions are intended at enabling the military distinguish between friendly and ontoward activities,” he said.
The armed forces, Gen. Buba said, will continue to operate consistent with international law as it always has done, adding that it will also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorist from Nigeria.
He noted that these terrorist as part of their tactics disguise as civilian to perpetrate terror.
The military, he said, will continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of its operations.
