Tag Archives: Rann

Troops kill 15 insurgents ‘responsible for accidental strike in Rann’

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Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says troops have killed 15 Boko Haram fighters, who were part of insurgents responsible for the mistaken deployment of rockets on an internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno state.

Speaking when he paid a visit to troops of 3 Battalion, Buratai said two days after the accident, Boko Haram fighters returned to Rann in two gun trucks, but were repelled by the soldiers.

He said while one insurgent, suspected to be a foreigner, was captured, others escaped with one gun truck.

He added that the troops recovered the other truck with weapons, including one General Purpose Machine Gun, three AK47 and ammunition.

He regretted that the weapons mistakenly hit IDP camps in the town, killing over 50 civilians and wounding many others.

“Two of our soldiers were also affected in the unfortunate incident,” Buratai said.

He described the incident as unfortunate and big mistake.

“We have all learnt lessons from it,” he said.

“We will take note of this; the issue of coordination and passage of the right information will help to prevent such incident again.

“It is a mistake which can happen and it has happened in other places. We pray it never happen again.”

Buratai urged troops not to allow the unfortunate incident to demoralize them.

He charged them to remain committed, dedicated and patriotic, assuring them that their efforts would be rewarded.

The chief of army staff also met with elders of the community and condoled with them over the incident.

Omoke, commanding officer of 3 Battalion, said Rann was one of the last towns retaken from the insurgents on March 22, 2016.

He said since the town was captured, insurgents had made five failed attempts to attack Rann but never succeeded.

The town is the headquarters of Kala Balge local government area of Borno. It is 175km from Maiduguri, the state capital, and 8km to Cameroon.

 

Source: The Cable

Soldiers repel Boko Haram attack on Rann IDP camp, kill 8

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Days after the accidental bombing by a Nigerian airforce jet, which killed at least 54 persons, Rann IDP Camp in Borno State came under another attack, this time, by Boko Haram insurgents.

 

Witnesses in Rann said soldiers deployed to secure the bombed IDP camp battled for hours to repel over 100 Boko Haram gunmen who came attacking at about 6pm.

 

A source from Rann informed PREMIUM TIMES that the soldiers stood their ground and killed eight of the attacking insurgents.

 

The source, who asked not to be quoted for his security sake, said a soldier was wounded in the attack.

 

On Tuesday, the Theatre Commander of the Lafiya Dole counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, Major General Lucky Irabor, said the air force jet that mistakenly bombed the IDP camp was actually deployed to take on an idea identified location where Boko Haram insurgents were gathering in Kala-Balge local government area of Borno State.

 

Rann is the headquarters of Kalabalge local government area.

 

The Air Force said the bombings were aimed at Boko Haram militants.

 

It is not clear if the gang of Boko Haram insurgents that attacked Rann last night were those missed by the airforce jet.

 

Source: Premium Times

Rann Bombing: 54 victims stabilized in 3 Maiduguri hospitals

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At least 54 victims of the military bomb misfire in Rann, headquarters of Kala-Balge are hospitalized in three hospitals located in Maiduguri with all of them in stable conditions, the Borno State Commissioner for Health, Haruna Mshelia, said in an update released on Wednesday.

Mr. Mshelia said of the 54 victims, 32 persons are receiving treatment at the State Specialist Hospital; 16 victims are being treated at 7th Division Military Hospital in Maimalari Barack while 6 persons are hospitalised at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

The Commissioner said that all the 54 hospitalised victims are in stable conditions with medical experts from the state, humanitarian partners and the military attending to their health needs.

The Commissioner said it was still too early to give an accurate number of deaths because as at the time of issuing the update, evacuation of survivors was still ongoing using four helicopters provided by the United Nations and the Nigerian Air Force.

Mr. Mshelia also said that bodies were being recovered.

The Commissioner said humanitarian partners like the MSF, International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the United Nations and different stakeholders have been extremely dedicated to the emergency evacuation and medical response.

He also said Governor Kashim Shettima has since morning deployed his Deputy, Usman Mamman Durkwa, and the House of Representatives member, representing Kala-Balge, Bama, Dikwa and Ngala federal constituency of Borno State, Mamman Nur Sheriff, and the Assembly member among other officials to scene of the incident at Rann, headquarters of Kala-Balge local government area in order to assess the situation and supervise evacuation of victims to Maiduguri.

While the Deputy Governor was at Rann, Governor Shettima was scheduled to meet officials of the Nigerian Air Force to get formal brief on the incident. The Governor was also remained in Maiduguri to coordinate responses from different quarters and ensure all appropriate steps were being taken.

While in Maiduguri, Governor Shettima received a Presidential delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, who came alongside the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olanishakin, Chief Army Staff, Lt-Gen TY Buratai, and other military officers operating within and outside Borno State.

?”The President and C-in-C is very distressed about the incident, and has instructed us to embark on this condolence visit. This kind of incident happens occasionally in war, especially when dealing with terrorists like Boko Haram who arbitrarily and in cowardly fashion hide among civilians. The President deeply regrets the incident. The Armed forces will take extra care to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The Federal Government is working with the State, Local, and International partners to ensure speedy resettlement of IDPs” the Chief of Staff said.

Governor Shettima said the incident was an unfortunate tragedy and a painful price of war.

“It is most unfortunate and wasn’t meant to happen. Nothing can justify this tragedy but going memory lane, incidents of friendly fire is unfortunately as old as history of wars in the world. There are many incidents of friendly fires since the 1st and 2nd World Wars down to ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and other parts of the world.

“It is gratifying that nobody made any effort to hide anything or sweep things under carpet. In years gone by, people would have resorted to blame games. I am happy that rather than blame game, information was made public with sincerity, mistakes were accepted and focus was channelled into evacuation and rehabilitation of victims. ?War comes with different kinds of very terrible prizes and this is one of such painful prizes. We pray this crisis ends and we shall remain forever grateful to all stakeholders for their support,” Mr. Shettima said.

?Our correspondent reports that following the unfortunate situation at Rann in Kala-Balge local government area of ?Borno State, Governor Kashim Shettima had ordered the State Ministry of Health to set up medical emergency response units and coordinate rehabilitation of victims.

Governor Shettima had received the news with shock and very deep concern. The Governor had particularly commended the MSF for its rapid response in providing first aide treatment to victims at the scene while also thanking the ICRC and the UN.

 

Source: Premium Times

Rann Bombing: President Buhari’s delegates arrive Maiduguri

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A federal government delegation led by the Chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has arrived Maiduguri, Borno State, in respect of Tuesday’s bombing of a displaced persons’ camp in the state.

 

At least 52 persons were killed and 120 others injured after an Air Force jet mistakenly targeted the IDP camp at Rann, near the border with Cameroon, where people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency, lived.

 

The government delegation comprises of the Chief of State, Abba Kyari, Ministers of Defence and information; the Chief of Defense Staff, as well as the Chiefs of Army and Air Staffs.

 

The team has left for the Borno Government House, where it will meet Governor Kashim Shettima.

 

Source: Premium Times

Accidental Bombing: Red Cross Assures Continuous Support.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has vowed to continue humanitarian aids to the Northeast, Nigeria.

 

This comes as six of the ICRC workers were among those killed in the accidental airstrike, that left over 50 people dead and many injured in Rann community, Borno State.

 

The Red Cross said that it is coordinating medical emergency efforts with the authorities and other aid agencies.

 

According to Reuters, the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) promised to work with the Nigerian Military to ensure such tragedy does not happen again.

 

“At least 52 people were killed and 120 wounded.”The organization’s medical and surgical teams in the region are preparing to treat evacuated patients,” An MSF official, Tim Shenk said.

 

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the families of the dead and the Borno state government on the tragedy.

 

The President received with deep sadness and regret, the error committed by some troops of the Nigerian Air Force.

 

He also pledged the Federal Government’s assistance to the state government in what he called a “regrettable operational mistake”.

 

However, the Nigerian Air Force says it regrets an accidental air strike by its troops in Rann area of Borno State, northeast Nigeria.

 

The apology was contained in a statement issued by the force’s spokesman, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa.

 

The force condoled with the families of the dead, stressing that the ill-fated occurrence was extremely regretted.

 

The statement read: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is saddened by today’s accidental air strike by its fighter jet at Rann in Kala Balge area of Borno State in which some innocent lives were lost.

 

“The NAF commiserates with those affected and their families and would update the public as soon as detailed facts emerge from the investigation”.

 

Source: Channels TV