PHOTOS: ARMY KILLS 5 INSURGENTS AS CROCODILE SMILE STARTS

Abuja - The Nigerian Army has killed five suspected militants at the resumption of operations to rid the Niger Delta of radicals destroying oil infrastructure in the region.

More than 20 suspects were injured during operations in the region most-endowed with oil in the West African country.

Codenamed Operation Crocodile Smile, it was launched this past weekend at Sapele in Delta State, situated south of Nigeria.

“The operation is aimed at training our troops on amphibious operations and also deal with security challenges and criminality in the area,” said Army spokesman, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman.

Items recovered from the alleged militants’ camps include AK-47 rifles, pump action guns, a locally made revolver pistol, cartridges of live ammunition, electricity generating sets and gas cooker.

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The troops also recovered an abandoned engine boat left by the alleged fleeing criminals, Usman said.

The breakthrough by the Army follows weeks of attacks on oil facilities by militants demanding compensation for the degradation of the region emanating from years of oil extraction in the Niger Delta.

International oil firms in the continent’s biggest producer of the commodity have mostly been targeted.

Among the most prominent militants, the Niger Delta Avengers, has threatened to declare the independence of the Niger Delta from Nigeria if their grievances are not addressed by October 1. 

See pictures from the operation below.

sources