Soldiers and arms
and ammunition recovered from suspected Boko Haram members in Baga, Borno
State... on Thursday
Source AFP
The Nigeria Army conducted the single deadliest military intervention which
caused wanton destruction of lives and properties of civilians in Baga, Borno
State in north eastern Nigeria. On Sunday, April 21, 2013, the soldiers from special
operations searched and invaded the Baga community in search of suspects believed
to be members of the deadly Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. According to a
recent United Nations report, “about 200 people were killed, and more than 2000
houses were destroyed during the raids conducted by the Nigerian Army,”
(Guardian Newspaper, May 4, 2013).
There have been conflicting reports over what triggered the incident as
the civilian population in Baga, Borno state were alleged to have harbored
members of Boko Haram among them. Other reports claimed that a unit of the joint
task force, made up of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger and Chad, was on a
reconnaissance mission to the border town when members of the Boko Haram group
ambushed and killed a senior military officer. The aggressors were said to have
quickly merged with the crowd using the locals as human shields. The soldiers were
alleged to have carried out a reprisal attack that left over 200 people dead
and over 2,000 homes destroyed in Baga (Punch Newspaper, May 5, 2013).
Earlier in
the year, General Carter Ham, Commander of the United States African Command
(AFRICOM), cautioned African governments not to rely solely on the use of
excessive military force to fight the war against terror in Africa (Onuorah,
2013). He lamented that, “though there is perhaps some necessity for some
military action, the solution in combating terror, lies in the non-military
solution and activities that would address the underline causes of the
dissatisfactions which include good governance,” (Guardian Newspaper, February
01, 2013).
Unfortunately,
the indiscriminate use of excessive military force have claimed the lives of
civilians that are supposed to be protected by Article 51 of the 1977 Additional
Protocol of the Geneva Convention which states that, “the civilian population
and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising
from military operations” (deoxy.org, n.d.). The Nigerian government needs to ensure
that efforts to achieve security comply with basic human right principles and
perpetrators of this arson are brought to justice. The continuous use of
military force in the fight against extremism should be down played to accommodate
distinction between the civilian population and military targets.
Works Cited
Article 51 of 1977 Geneva
Convention retrieved from http://deoxy.org/wc/wc-proto.htm.
Obayuwana, O., &
Akande, L. (n.d.). UN Warns Jonathan On Amnesty To Boko Haram. Guardian.
Retrieved
from
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120850:un-warns-jonathan-on-amnesty-to-boko-haram&catid=1:national&Itemid=559.
Onuorah, M. (2013, February 1). US
General Cautions African Government Against Over
Reliance on Military For War Against Terror. Guardian. Retrieved from
http://ngrguardiannews.com.
The Punch: Nigeria's Most
Widely Read Newspaper. (n.d.). The mindless
Baga killings.
Retrieved
from http://www.punchng.com/editorial/the-mindless-baga-killings/.
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