In a bid to decisively eradicate all forms of insurgency in
with the African continent, strong signs have emerged that the United States
government may dispatch assaults against Boko Haram radicals in the North-East,
as an automaton base being built in Agadez town in the Niger Republic would
soon be finished.
The said drone base is required to give US military, more
noteworthy capacity to utilize drones against Islamist fanatics in nations like
Libya, Mali and Nigeria.
In any case, it was told Sunday Punch by some security
specialists that such automaton assaults against guerrillas in the North may
kill honest individuals.
The task, thought to be the United States’ most critical
military development exertion in Africa, as indicated by undisclosed documents
acquired by an online medium, The Intercept, will swallow $100m.
The development of the base means that the US is giving
careful consideration to insurgency in Nigeria and different nations on the
African mainland.
According to the Intercept “As the only country in the
region willing to allow a US base for MQ-9 Reapers — a newer, larger, and
potentially more lethal model than the venerable Predator drone — Niger has
positioned itself to be the key regional hub for US military operations, with
Agadez serving as the premier outpost for launching intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance missions against a plethora of terror groups.”
Though the United States have for a considerable length of
time worked an air base in Niamey, Niger's capital, yet in September 2014 the
US African Command reported arrangements to construct an automaton office for
"Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance."
The records acquired by The Intercept and made accessible
online expressed, “The top MILCON [military construction] project for USAFRICOM
is located in Agadez, Niger to construct a C-17 and MQ-9 capable airfield.
“Remotely Piloted Aircraft presence in Africa supports
operations against seven (Department of State)-designated foreign terrorist
organisations.
“Moving operations to Agadez aligns persistent ISR to
current and emerging threats over Niger and Chad, supports French
regionalisation and extends range to cover Libya and Nigeria.”
In a swift response to the advancement, an individual from
the American Society of Industrial Security, Prof. Femi Adegbulu, made known to
SUNDAY PUNCH that there was a probability of inadvertent blow-back, if the US
dispatch drone assaults against Boko Haram in the North.
He state that, “There are two sets of drones, one for
surveillance and the other for attacks. A reconnaissance drone is used for
intelligence gathering, while the other kind of drone is used for attacks.
There is no 100 per cent accuracy in warfare.
“You lose lives, money, time, and resources. The possibility
of collateral damage cannot be ruled out, especially since Boko Haram
terrorists are known to use humans as shields when attacked.”
So also, a previous Director, Department of State Services,
Mike Ejiofor, revealed to journalists that he was worried about the US
military's arrangement to dispatch assaults against Boko Haram from Niger.
“I am worried that the US military will be making such
efforts to launch attacks against Boko Haram from outside Nigeria. If the US
did not get the nod from the Federal Government to establish its drone base in
the country, how could the US military launch attacks against Boko Haram from
Niger Republic?”
At the point when the representative for the Ministry of
Defense, Mr. Charles Nwodo, was reached at 3pm, he solicited that he should be
given up to 6pm before he can make any comment. Be that as it may, when he was
called again at 6pm, he didn't pick the calls set to his phone line nor respond
to text message sent him.
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