Soldiers Protest In Borno Over Redeployment

Soldiers of the Special Strike Forces deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole have protested against their posting to Marte, a Local Government Area (LGA) in Northern Borno State. The soldiers reacted to the news of the latest posting on Sunday evening by firing gunshots in the air at the Maiduguri International Airport in the state capital. One of the soldiers told Channels Television via a phone interview that they were due for rotation, having spent almost four years at the theatre of operations.

He said they reported for duty in February 2015, stressing that a military circular from the Chief of Army Staff had clearly stated that no soldier should in any account be kept beyond three years in the North East region of the country. The soldier lamented that out of the over 300 troops who reported, many of them had died in the last three years as a result of ambush or landmines by the Boko Haram insurgents, while some were killed in battle.

The angry soldiers have blocked all entrances to the airport and have insisted on redress.