Sixteen Nigerian soldiers killed in attack in Delta state | Conflict News

The troopers had been on a mission to cease the battle between two communities within the Bomadi area.

Sixteen Nigerian troopers have been killed on a mission to halt clashes between two communities within the southern state of Delta, a military spokesperson stated.

The troops from the 181 Amphibious Battalion deployed within the Bomadi area, had responded to the battle within the Okuoma group once they had been killed on Thursday, Brigadier Normal Tukur Gusau stated in a press release on Saturday.

“The reinforcement crew led by the commanding officer was additionally attacked, resulting in the demise of the commanding officer, two majors, one captain and 12 troopers,” he stated.

The chief of defence has additionally directed a right away investigation and the arrest of these concerned, in line with Gusau.

“Up to now, a number of arrests have been made whereas steps [are] in place to unravel the motive behind the assault,” he added.

There are frequent clashes, typically lethal, over land or compensation for oil spills by power firms in lots of Delta state communities.

Furthermore, conflict has additionally continued to roil Nigeria’s northern and central areas, the place armed teams are energetic and authorities forces have been accused of committing abuses.

Earlier this 12 months, not less than 30 individuals had been killed in renewed violence in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, the place clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farming communities have erupted for years.

The state lies within the Center Belt, a area seen because the dividing line between Nigeria’s largely Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Inter-communal violence has been frequent within the area, which is house to dozens of ethnic minorities, such because the Mwaghavul.

Clashes within the area and the northwest are rooted in group tensions over land between nomadic herders and Indigenous farmers, however exacerbated by the results of local weather change and inhabitants rise within the area.