July 25, 2021
1 min read

Nigeria receives six warplanes from US to fight insurgency

“The first batch of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft have arrived in Kano,” Nigeria Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said in a statement….reports Asian Lite News

Nigeria has received six of 12 turboprop light attack aircraft from the US to help fight mounting insecurity, its air force said.

Africa’s most populous nation faces several security crises, including a 12-year-old insurgency in the northeast, herder-farmer clashes in the center, kidnapping for ransom in the northwest and separatist agitation in the south.

“The first batch of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft have arrived in Kano,” Nigeria Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said in a statement.

He said on Friday that six out of 12 had arrived, and the next batch would arrive in October.

The planes are built in the US by Sierra Nevada and its Brazilian partner, Embraer Defense and Security.

The $593-million deal was initially unveiled in May 2016 under former US president Barack Obama.

However, the Obama administration froze the sale just before handing over to Donald Trump, after the Nigerian military accidentally bombed a camp for people displaced by conflict in the northeast, killing 112 civilians.

Boko Haram and rival offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have killed at least 40,000 people and forced more than two million people from their homes since 2009. The violence has spread to parts of neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the jihadists.

In August 2017, the State Department under Trump informed Congress it had approved the deal, which includes supplying the Nigerian armed forces with ammunition, training and aircraft maintenance.

The Super Tucano is already used in Brazil, for border patrols, and in a dozen other air forces including in Afghanistan, Colombia and Indonesia.

On Sunday, the Nigerian air force said it had lost an Alpha Jet, a European-made trainer and light attack plane built in the 1970s and 80s, after it came under fire from criminal gangs in Zamfara state in the northwest of the country.

ALSO READ: Nigeria Annually Losing $26.3B to Piracy

Previous Story

Mexican Prez calls for ‘new coexistence’ of American states

Next Story

Hima listed as Saudi Arabia’s sixth UNESCO World Heritage Site

Latest from -Top News

UK MPs Slam Pakistan Over Minority Abuses

Minority communities such as Shias, Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis continue to face harassment, violence, and intimidation. In many cases, law enforcement either turns a blind eye or enables the attacks through inaction…reports

Words Won’t Stop China, Quad Must Deliver

 If the Quad aims to counterbalance China’s growing influence, it must expand its focus beyond the maritime domain and address the continental dynamics of the Indo-Pacific…writes Imran Khurshid Despite early concerns that

India Stays Neutral on Dalai Lama Succession

As exiled Tibetan spiritual leader approaches his 90th birthday, he asserted on Wednesday that there will be the 15th reincarnation…reports Asian Lite News Responding to the Dalai Lama’s recent remarks, India on

USAID cut could kill 14 million more deaths

Human rights advocates and global health experts have expressed alarm at the speed and scale of the cuts…reports Asian Lite News A new study published in The Lancet has warned that ongoing

Trump goes nuclear on Mamdani

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and son of Indian-Ugandan immigrants, secured a surprise victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.;…reports Asian Lite News President Donald Trump has intensified his
Go toTop