*Steps us reconnaissance and massive attack against militants
*Nigerian Army Elite Group, Maroon Beret Storm Boko Haram’s Secret Enclave
*200 Soldiers from Nigeria, Ivory Coast step up Peace Mission in Benin Republic
*“The United States Air Force aircraft is presently operating above the Babana crossing used by armed groups for smuggling supplies”-BRANT Philip, American Security expert
*BY ISABEL TEMENI/NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Abuja/Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA
WITHOUT taking chances, the United States Air Force entered the airspace of Benin-Nigeria border without using the Nigerian airport, stepped up reconnaissance and massive attack against militants and it had begun the operation now in blasting the armory of the terrorists.
Corroborating this view, Bryant Philip, a top American security operative with specialty in West Africa law enforcement confirmed the latest development by explaining that the United States Air Force ISR aircraft is on an on-going mission above
His words: “The United States Air Force ISR aircraft is currently operating above the Babana strategic crossing on the Benin-Nigeria border. This route has long been used by armed groups, particularly JNIM, for smuggling supplies. In August, the Nigerian army clashed with unidentified gunmen.
“The United States resumes ISR missions today in Nigeria, targeting ISWAP zones of influence in Borno State, northeast Nigeria, on the fringes of Lake Chad. It took off from Accra, Ghana. Still not using a Nigerian airport.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army Elite Group, Maroon Beret famously described as Boko Haram’s nightmare stormed the secret enclave of the terrorists’ group and killed over 50 members of the notorious sect inside their make-shift huts in the forest.
As at press time, some 200 West African soldiers, mainly from Nigeria and Ivory Coast, are in Benin Republic to support the government following the failed coup, Benin’s foreign minister says.
Remember, the attempt was foiled after Nigeria deployed fighter jets to drive the mutineers out of a military base and state TV headquarters, where they had declared a takeover.
This is the first time that officials have said how many foreign soldiers were deployed to the country, although it is not clear if some have been withdrawn.
Benin’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari on Thursday said some of the regional troops sent to help had remained in the country “as part of the sweep and clean-up operation”.
The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, deployed troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast to secure key installations and prevent any resurgence of the violence.
Nigeria, Benin’s large neighbour to the east, said its soldiers had reached there since a few days ago, describing the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy”.
Security intelligence showed 50 soldiers from the country had been sent as part of the regional deployment.
“There are currently around 200 soldiers present, who came to lend a hand at the end of the day to the Beninese defence and security forces as part of the sweep and clean-up operation,” said Bakari, while addressing journalists in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Thursday.
Bakari, who was speaking alongside Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, said that by the time the Beninese forces called for help, the coup “was already a failure”.
“When we started discussions for the intervention of Nigeria and the others, under ECOWAS protocol, our military had already pushed them back,” he added.
According to Bakari, what was required was “precise aerial back-up to carry out a surgical operation that targeted the enemy’s key positions without risking civilian casualties”.
Tuggar said that fast diplomatic, military, and intelligence actions between Nigeria and Benin had helped to foil the coup.
Discussions are continuing over how long the regional forces would remain, but Bakari said any decision “will be taken in close collaboration with Benin’s defence and security forces, who have demonstrated their bravery”.
It is not clear if the French special forces who also reportedly helped loyalist troops thwart the coup are still in Benin.
Under intense pressure after a string of successful coups in the region, Ecowas is signaling that it is no longer willing to watch democratically elected governments be toppled by the military.
Bakari praised ECOWAS as “an important tool that allows us to defend democracy and the values of democracy in our regional space”.
Benin’s army has suffered losses near its northern border with insurgency-hit Niger and Burkina Faso in recent years, as jihadist militants linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda spread southwards.
Talon, who is regarded as a close ally of the West, is due to step down next year after completing his second term in office, with elections scheduled for April.
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