ABUJA: Six soldiers of the Nigerian army were ambushed and killed by gunmen while on patrol in the northern Niger state on Friday, the army said Monday.
Beyond fighting Islamist militants in the northeast, Nigeria’s military has been called upon to tackle the threat in northern and central regions posed by criminal gangs who kill and kidnap villagers and schoolchildren.
Nigeria’s Army spokesperson Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement late on Sunday that troops of the 1st Division were on a fighting patrol in Karaga village in Niger’s Shiroro local government area when they were ambushed.
Largely rural Shiroro is an area of Niger state where armed gangs, known locally as bandits, frequently attack villages and security personnel.
Nwachukwu said the troops were pursuing gunmen who had escaped after other members of the gang were killed by soldiers and their equipment captured.
In March, at least 16 Nigerian soldiers, including four officers, were killed in southern Nigeria’s Delta state while attempting to resolve a violent clash between two communities. This tragic incident highlights the complex security situation in Nigeria, where the military is often deployed to de-escalate deadly inter-communal violence over issues like land disputes and resource control.
The troops, part of Nigeria’s 181 Amphibious Battalion, had been sent to the Bomadi area of Delta state to respond to distress calls over fighting between the Okuama and Okoloba communities. The conflict stemmed from a long-running land dispute which had recently escalated, resulting in the abduction of one person.
Some Nigeria media reports said that in retaliation, the army set an entire village belonging to one of the warring communities ablaze.
