Collateral Damage Alleged as Nigerian Army Pounds Boko Haram

As Nigeria's military forces continue the war against terror, recording a major success by retaking Monguno, New York Times on Wednesday insinuated that there might have been some collateral damage and that some of the 300 that reportedly lost their lives were actually terrorists.

According to the report, "a top security official in Maiduguri, the heartland of the insurgency, on Wednesday confirmed the Nigerian Army’s claims that the garrison town, Monguno, had been captured this week from Boko Haram after the insurgents had seized it last month.

Separately, officials in Niger said Wednesday that a plane had dropped bombs on a funeral in the border village of Abadam, killing at least 37 people, as they were apparently mistaken for members of a Boko Haram cell. The plane “did not take off from either Niger or Chad,” a leading regional official said. The Nigerian military denied responsibility, though refugees from Nigeria have in the past complained of indiscriminate bombing raids by that country’s military".

Spokesman of Nigeria's Defence Headquarters, Major General Chris Olukolade ahd taken a swipe at the Nigerien army last week, insinuating that soldiers from Niger were "notorious for looting". He was reacting to a statement from a Nigerien official who painted Nigeria's soldiers as cowards.