By Folarin Abiola

The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, has explained that the military follows strict protocols before executing any airstrike across the various theatres of operations.

Musa stated that the military conducts its airstrikes with precision, adding that civilians are not deliberately targeted.

Musa who was reacting to the recent accidental killing of 16 civilians in Zamfara on Saturday spoke during an interview on Monday.

He said, “The issue of the airstrikes is still the same. Before we conduct any airstrike, we follow up on movements. And I can tell you, when we do airstrikes, we do it with precision.”

Musa stated that secondary explosions in areas where insurgents store weapons and explosives could have affected the citizens.

The CDS noted that the accidental killing allegations might be antics to demoralise troops, adding that most of the allegations come when the military is making headway.

He called for patience and cooperation in verifying such incidents, urging communities to allow military investigations before concluding the nature of any airstrike.

Also, speaking on the tactics employed by terrorists in their bid to perpetuate violence, the CDS revealed that the terrorists systematically impregnated women to create a new generation of fighters.

According to Musa, terrorists previously relied on capturing communities and forcibly recruiting men, but the loss of their territories has forced them to adopt a different approach.

The CDS added that this was evident in the number of those who surrendered to troops, noting that out of 120,000 half were children.

The CDS expressed concern that such children would be more brutal and perpetrate heinous crime than their parents if not tamed.