Three United States of America military planes arrive in Nigeria
Three United States of America (USA) aircraft carrying troops and weapons have reportedly arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, with the first plane arriving the state on Thursday night.
Penpushing reports that a report has it that and pointed out that officials from both countries affirmed that the first batch of roughly 100 United States of America (USA) troops will arrive in Nigeria over the weekend.
The sources added that by Friday evening, three planes were reported to have landed in Maiduguri, with equipment being offloaded from one of them, while these first arrivals mark the start of C-17 cargo planes heading to three different sites across Nigeria.
Penpushing further reports that a Defence Department official of United States of America (USA) speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of operational details, stated that more aircraft transporting personnel and equipment are scheduled to arrive this weekend, with additional flights planned over the coming weeks.
The spokesperson for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, Major General Samaila Uba, was quoted saying that the American troops would not engage in combat operations, but disclosing that the country will deploy 200 troops to Nigeria.
“These personnel do not serve in a combat capacity and will not assume a direct operational role. Nigerian forces retain full command authority, make all operational decisions and will lead all missions on Nigerian sovereign territory’, Uba said
Penpushing also reports that he said the deployment stemmed from recommendations made by a America-Nigeria joint working group and that the forces would serve in an advisory capacity at multiple sites.
The United States of America (USA) Defence Department official corroborated this, emphasising that the American personnel would focus on non-combat roles and operate mainly from command centres.
Penpushing reports that a Nigerian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, stated that the troops would be dispatched to northern states where jihadist groups such as Boko Haram have long operated.
The official assured that the joint mission will extend across several unstable areas, which include parts of the Middle Belt or North-central, where resource-based conflicts between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and Christian farmers have been framed as religious
Penpushing further reports the deployment comes after months of mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, who has strongly criticised Nigeria’s government for what he describes as its failure to adequately protect Christians from deadly attacks carried out by Islamist militants and armed groups.
The America President it would be recalled late last year ordered airstrikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day, stressing that it targeted Islamic State terrorists in the North-West who are responsible for killing Christians.
Penpushing also reports that in same vein, the Nigerian government said it cooperated with the United States of America (USA) and provided the intelligence used for the strikes.
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