The security officials “confirmed that a cycle of attacks and reprisals was compounding criminal activities in the area and causing needless loss of lives and appealed to all sides to embrace peace.”
The Army has said Southern Kaduna killings are not the result of one-sided attacks, as reported in some quarters.
It said it was working on improving response time across steep terrain, increasing the number of troops in the area and expecting support from the Air Force.
Major-General CC Okonkwo, Commander of Operation Safe Haven, said this while addressing a meeting of senior security officials held, on Tuesday, with Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State on the security situation in Southern Kaduna, Vanguard reports.
The security officials “confirmed that a cycle of attacks and reprisals was compounding criminal activities in the area and causing needless loss of lives and appealed to all sides to embrace peace.”
Okonkwo told the meeting that he had received a deployment of Special Forces.
He said the Chief of Defence Staff would send more troops to reinforce those in the area, to stop the communities from attacking each other, and to create the climate for peace talks.
In his opening remarks, Governor El-Rufai said he came to the meeting “with a heavy heart, saddened by the needless pain several of our communities are enduring in the cycle of violence that is recurring in parts of our state.[story_link align="left"]83516[/story_link]
“Our task, as always, is to find means of containing the violence and ending the bloodshed.
“Today, we want to hear from you the leaders of the security agencies deployed in the area what further measures can be taken to end the agony.
“On our part, we continue to support the efforts of the security agencies as best as we can.” On its part, the police traced the outbreak of violence to clashes that started on June 5 and June 11.