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Nigeria military rejects reprisal attack after 16 troops eliminated

Men in army uniform ransacked and burned homes in Nigeria's oilproducing Delta state days after youths killed 16 soldiers sent out there to resolve a land dispute, citizens stated, but the defence chief denied military participation.

Locals said soldiers assaulted the riverside Okuoma neighborhood of a few hundred individuals on Sunday while trying to find those accountable for Thursday's killings.

Tam Oburumu, who ran away from his home, said uniformed guys were walking around looking for weapons and rummaged houses previously torching them.

The damage for now is substantial, a lot of houses were burned, Oburumu said by phone from a close-by village where he has looked for refuge.

Government-owned residential or commercial properties, consisting of a primary school and medical facility, were spared, locals said.

President Bola Tinubu stated he had offered the military complete authority to hunt down those accountable for eliminating the soldiers, which he described as an unconscionable criminal offense versus the Nigerian individuals.

Defence chief General Christopher Musa rejected that soldiers had actually attacked the community.

No reprisals by the army. We are looking for the killers and their weapon cache, Musa stated in a text to .

There are regular, often lethal, clashes over land or over settlement for oil spills by energy business in lots of Delta state communities.

Friday Addy, a trader in Okuoma, stated she and her mom had left their home when soldiers got here.

The people have actually gotten away for their lives, and lots of are missing and we can not find them. We are helpless, said Addy.

(source: Reuters)