‘Soldiers stopping us from burying killed relatives’ – Cross River community cries out

Residents fleeing Odonget assemblage successful Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State person accused soldiers of preventing them from returning to hide relatives killed during past week’s clash with troops.

The soldiers, drawn from 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army and the 245 Battalion, Edor Barracks, were deployed to the country pursuing unrest linked to amerciable mining activities.

Locals assertion corpses inactive litter parts of the assemblage aft the violence, with families incapable to retrieve oregon hide their dead.

An Odonget younker leader, Theo Abeng, who spoke from neighbouring Ochon village, said helium and 2 others attempted to re-enter Odonget to put burials but were fired upon by soldiers.

“The soldiers opened occurrence connected us. One of the boys was killed and we had to flee, leaving his assemblage behind. We besides saw bodies from past week inactive decomposing due to the fact that they person not been buried,” helium alleged.

He added that troops support a dense beingness successful the village, with rotating patrols during the time and night.

Abeng further alleged that immoderate soldiers were complicit successful amerciable mining, accusing them of seizing precious stones, specified arsenic reportedly tin ore, from miners, galore of whom helium claimed were from bluish Nigeria.

The situation reportedly began connected March 11 aft a m...