Stay Away From Conflict Areas, Army Advises Aid Organisations

By Chuks Ekpeneru and Ayodele Oluwafemi

To avoid falling victims of the crisis in the North-East, the Nigerian Army has advised international aid organisations to stay off conflict areas.

The Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, stated this on Friday when he received officials of the Medicine Sans Frontier, otherwise known as Doctors Without Borders, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.

Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun urged the groups to avoid actions that would bring harm, saying the security of international and local aid workers was a top priority for the Nigerian government.

He said, “Despite your neutrality and impartiality, at times situations make it difficult for you to have the reach you would like to have – neutrally without any security man or apparatus seen around you.

“We must continue to operate with understandings so that while you are providing succour for the people, you also don’t come into harm’s way.”

The MSF President, Mr Kristos Christi, said the group visited to solicit the army’s support to provide medical assistance to thousands of Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East, adding that they had delivered thousands of babies for pregnant women in the region.

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