At least 10 persons were killed by Boko Haram terrorists, after they ambushed a convoy of humanitarian workers and soldiers at the Maula village along the Dikwa-Ngala highway in Borno State.
The military’s Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command in Maiduguri, Borno State, which confirmed the incident on Monday, said the terrorists shot dead four persons while the troops also fought back and eliminated six of them during the ambush.
Also, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs condemned the attacks, saying “violence against convoys carrying humanitarian aid was unacceptable.”
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, said the North-East residents needed to access humanitarian assistance on time as many lives were at risk.
One of our correspondents learnt that the aid workers were taking food supplies in a convoy of vehicles, escorted by the army, to the Ngala area when the insurgents ambushed them on Saturday.
The food supplies reportedly belonged to the UN World Food Programme, which is the food-assistance agency of the UN.
It was gathered that the ambush resulted in a gunfight between the terrorists and the troops, during which 10 people were killed.
A spokesperson for the WFP, Adedeji Ademigbuji, said in a mail to one of our correspondents that the four deceased aids workers included the driver of a WFP truck.
He stated, “The WFP can confirm that a convoy escorted by the Nigerian military, including WFP-hired trucks was the subject of an attack by armed groups at 35km South-West of Ngala in Borno State on Saturday.
“The armed ambush by a non-state armed group took place on the road between Dikwa and Gamboru, in Borno State, and resulted in the reported loss of at least four civilian lives as well as the destruction of basic aid items initially destined to alleviate the suffering of thousands of women, children and men.
“The driver of a WFP-hired truck and a driver’s assistant were killed in the incident.”
The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations and Theatre Command’s spokesman, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the deceased civilians had yet to be identified as UN workers.
Nwachukwu added that the military recovered three AK 47 rifles, three locally-fabricated firearms, four magazines and a belt of 7.62mm ammunition.
The spokesman added, “Contrary to rumours, none of the casualties in the encounter has been identified as a member of staff of the UN. The troops fought through the ambush, overpowered the insurgents and killed six of them.
“Sadly four persons died in the encounter.
“Although none of the persons killed in the ambush has so far been identified as a member of staff of the UN, we consider the lives of all citizens and indeed all humans sacrosanct, which must be protected by troops even at a supreme price.
“The situation has been brought under control and further exploitation of the general area is currently being carried out by the Mobile Strike Team of the Operation Lafiya Dole.”
Kallon said on Monday that the UN expressed “grave concern” with the limitations posed by such attacks, noting that over five million people were reached with assistance in 2017 alone.
He said, “We must ensure the safety of aid workers and aid convoys across the North-East of Nigeria so that people in need of assistance can access it in a timely manner and in sufficient quantity. Many lives are at risk.”
Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
