United States (US) has said it will help the Nigerian military end the bombing of civilian targets during airstrikes on terrorists and criminal elements in the northeast and northwest.
The US principal deputy national security advisor, Jonathan Finer, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja yesterday.
He said the US country takes the accidental bombing of civilians by the Nigerian Air Force seriously.
Finer said the cooperation with the Nigerian armed forces could be helpful in this regard, adding that America’s established collaboration with the military would move to address this development.
“Obviously, one of the areas we are going to work with the Nigerian military is reducing unintended casualties. That’s something we as a government and as a military take extremely seriously.
“No country is perfect in this regard, it is important to point that out. This is another area I think cooperation can actually be helpful. The collaboration we already established is going to have to continue to move forward so we can avoid any unintended consequence.”
On the speculation that the Super Tucano that Nigeria bought from the US might be deployed against secessionist agitators in the South-East, Finer said the sales agreement was explicit about where the platform would be deployed.
He described the jets as an important platform for security, particularly in the north, while expressing pleasure at the conclusion of the deal.
In her remarks, the US ambassador to Nigeria Mary Beth Leonard said the US was encouraged by the openness and transparency shown by the military in acknowledging the incidents, noting that such accidents do occur.
“In any military including our own, sometimes things happen. The question is, what do you do to find out what transpired; where the weak link was, how to make that better,” she said.
