Military operations in Plateau villages ongoing – STF
A Panhard VBL M11 of the Special Task Force in Plateau, Jos
| credits: beegeagle.wordpress.com
Special
Task Force in Jos has said it has yet to conclude operations to flush
out suspected terrorists from the hills of Jos, from where Fulani
herdsmen a forthnight ago, attacked nine villages in Barakin Ladi and
Riyom Local Government Area, killing more than 100 people.
Among the victims were
two lawmakers, Senator Gyang Dantong, representing Plateau North and
Gyang Fulani, representing Barkin Ladi state constituency. The duo met
their deaths on July 8 while leading a funeral procession for the
victims of the July 7 massacre.
The task force had, on
July 14, given residents of five villages mostly affected by the
massacre 48 hours to vacate their houses to enable them to flush out the
terrorists from the hills of Mahanga, Kakuruk, Kuzen, Maseh, and Shong
2.
But six days later, the
task force asked residents of Kakuruk, Kuzen, Maseh and Shong 2 to
return to their homes following intense pressure from Muslim communities
who started their annual fasting.
STF claimed that it had
concluded the operation in the four settlements. The Muslims had
complained that they would not undertake the fasting period in the
makeshift camps provided by the STF.
STF Media Officer, Capt.
Salisu Mustapha, told our correspondents in an interview in Jos on
Thursday, that the operations had yet to be concluded in Mahanga, said
to be the den of the terrorists.
He said media reports
that operations had been concluded in all the settlements were false as
the exercise was still ongoing in Mahanga.
He said, “We have not
finished the operations. It is still on in Mahanga. We only allowed
residents of the other settlements to return to their homes because we
have finished the exercise in those areas.”
Mustapha, who refused to
give details of arrests or weapons found, said reports on the
operations were still being compiled and would be forwarded to Defence
Headquarters for necessary action.
The STF spokesman said,
“The operation was ordered by the defence headquarters and at the end,
we will compile the reports and send to the headquarters for appropriate
action. It is not for me to tell you details of the operation because
it was ordered by the authorities who should know what had happened
first.
“I advise that you wait for the outcome
of the operations and the reports to come from the appropriate quarters.
You will get the details soon. Just wait.”
