South Africa: Boko Haram – Arrest Former Soldiers Says Minister

Photo: RFI/ Nicolas Champeaux
A multinational team of over 100 private military experts will help Nigeria against Boko Haram (file photo).[/caption] Johannesburg — The South Africans going to help the Nigerian army against terror group Boko Haram should be arrested on their return, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said in Beeld on Thursday. She labelled them “mercenaries” in comments made to reporters on the eve of the African Union’s summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Beeld has reported that a multinational team of over 100 private military experts was on its way to Nigeria to help against Boko Haram. Former soldiers of the SA Defence Force [the predecessor of the SA National Defence Force] formed the core. “There are consequences when somebody leaves the country and provides any form of military assistance that is not part of the government’s deployment,” she said.

The police and prosecuting authority should make examples of the group by charging them under the regulation on Foreign Military Assistance Act. Their team leader said they were not mercenaries, but would provide training in terms of a contract with the Nigerian government. Mapisa-Nqakula said no SA National Defence Force member was deployed to Nigeria, and South Africa had not received an official request for assistance or weapons. On Tuesday Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, expressed her disappointment at the South Africans’ involvement. *Source Allafrica]]>