The Nigerian Army said on Sunday that it recovered a large cache of arms in Southern Kaduna during its ongoing operation to stem the crisis in the area.
Hundreds of people have been killed in Southern Kaduna in the past year in clashes mainly between migrating herdsmen and host farming communities.
The Army recently launched Operation Harbin Kunama and established two formations in the area to stem the violence.
The Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, in a statement said the arms were recovered on Saturday during a “search of Gwaska, Dangoma, Angwan Far and Bakin Kogi general area of Southern Kaduna State.”“During the operation, the troops recovered 73 Dane Guns, 4 Locally Made Rifles, 1 Locally Made Machine Gun and 1 Locally Made Pistol,” Mr. Usman, a brigadier general said.
The recently launched Operation HARBIN KUNAMA II by the Nigerian Army in Southern part of Kaduna State which will cover some forests in Bauchi, Kano and Plateau States has started to yield the desired result as troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army recover large cache of arms and ammunition in southern part of Kaduna State on Saturday 22nd April 2017. The discovery was made when troops embarked on cordon and search of Gwaska, Dangoma, Angwan Far and Bakin Kogi general area of Southern Kaduna State.
During the operation, the troops recovered 73 Dane Guns, 4 Locally Made Rifles, 1 Locally Made Machine Gun and 1 Locally Made Pistol. Others include 260 Cartridges, 14 rounds of 7.62mm Ammunition, 63 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 1 Locally made Small Machine Gun Magazine, a pair of worn out military boot and some quantities of assorted Improvised Ammunition and Pyrotechnics hidden in dug out pits.
While efforts are ongoing to track down the owners of the arms and ammunition, it is imperative to state the good people of the area have been very supportive and cooperate fully with the military which led to these unprecedented findings.
Similarly, in Sector 1 of the Operation which covers Kano State, troops in conjunction with other security agencies are carrying out operations in suspected armed bandits camps in Falgore forest. The operation is ongoing
