Kaduna — As the federal government deploys another 906 officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army on peace keeping mission in Mali, army authorities said at the weekend they have so far recorded zero casualty.
The troops who included 57 officers are to replace those deployed to Mali in January this year.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the troops' pre-deployment training at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji, at the weekend, the Head of African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) monitoring team, Major General Chinedu Ugwu, said Nigeria's performance in Mali has been excellent, and that the army has not lost anyone in the ongoing operation in Mali.
He said, "The Nigerian Army has been performing very well and the host country, Mali is happy to have the Nigerian contingent. In fact in the areas where the Nigerian troops are deployed, like; Rere and Niara, the people are always happy with them to the extent that they donate food items to them. They said they want Nigeria to be with them and that is why we have the force commander there. They are all happy and our performance is excellent. The essence of the pre-deployment training for NIBATT 2, is to rotate the present troops in Mali. They will be rotated after six months."
Addressing the 906 officers and soldiers, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmed Jibrin, warned the troops to avoid trafficking of illicit drugs and respect the cultural and religious sensitivity of the people of Mali.
He said the nature of peacekeeping operations has changed and takes place in complex environments characterized by challenging issues like destroyed infrastructure, economic collapse and human suffering.
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