NIGERIA, NORTHWEST – Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has blamed the regular attacks by the terrorists in the North East and North Western parts of Nigeria on the supports and presence of the foreign fighters who are on ground to give their moral and logistics support to their local counterparts.
Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, disclosed this at a media briefing on military operations conducted across the country, saying troops had continued to take away the terrorists’ most important assets, such as their logistics, administrative, and fighting capabilities.
Buba said troops might record occasional tactical setbacks but he quick to say that the “strategic objective to break the terrorists’ will to fight remained unhindered.”
He said, “The resurgence in terror attacks can be attributable to the influx of foreign fighters that come in as reinforcement for these terrorists.
“These foreign fighters are from the Sahelian region. The other contributing factor is the local collaborators who form a support base for these terrorists.
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“They serve as informants to the terrorists, reporting on troop movements. In spite of the situation, troops are profoundly conscious of their role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation.”
Gen. Buba, while noting that defeating an enemy means destroying or breaking their will to fight, said the military is achieving this by the cumulative effort of killing their operatives, commanders, and senior leadership.
According to him, the troops had continued to take away the terrorists’ most important assets, such as their logistics, administrative, and fighting capabilities.
“And of course, we are applying regional and international pressure, as well as engaging the media. All these combine to destroy the terrorists’ will to fight.
“Wars are fought and won all over the world by destroying the enemy’s will to fight. And we are bent on achieving just that.
“We understand that this war is not a quick fix, but a long and enduring military operation, at the end of which these terrorists will be destroyed and we will have a better world.
“Overall, we understand that we all want to be in a different situation, a situation whereby all this insecurity is over and the terrorists are completely eradicated,” Buba maintained.