The United States hit back Wednesday at allegations by the Nigerian<\/p>\n
ambassador of failing to help fight Boko Haram militants, saying there had
\nbeen \u201ca great deal\u201d of US aid to his country.<\/p>\n
In the past six months since the Islamic militants snatched some 200
\nschoolgirls in northern Nigeria, Washington has shared intelligence with
\nthe Nigerian army, begun training a new battalion and held high-level
\ntalks on the threat of Boko Haram, a US official said.<\/p>\n
In a speech made public Tuesday, ambassador Adebowale Adefuye appeared to
\nhave taken US officials by surprise when he launched into a tirade against
\nthe US administration.<\/p>\n
Nigerian leaders were \u201cnot satisfied with the scope, nature and content of
\nthe United States\u2019 support for us in our struggle against terrorists,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He accused Washington of not providing the \u201clethal\u201d weapons needed to
\ndeliver \u201ca killer punch\u201d to the militants.<\/p>\n
But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki shot back that the US had
\n\u201cprovided and approved sales of military equipment to its armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure
\nthey conform with United States law.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she acknowledged the US had refused to transfer some Cobra helicopters
\ndue to concerns about the Nigerian army\u2019s ability to use them.<\/p>\n
There were also \u201congoing concerns about the Nigerian military\u2019s protection
\nof civilians when conducting military operations,\u201d Psaki said, adding
\nthese had been discussed with the Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n
Adefuye told members of the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday that
\nallegations of human rights abuses by the military were \u201crumors, hearsays
\nand exaggerated accounts\u201d put about by rivals of President Goodluck
\nJonathan and rights groups.<\/p>\n
But Psaki stressed the US would not raise such concerns \u201cif we didn\u2019t feel
\nand others didn\u2019t feel that they were warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Washington was ready to help Nigeria train and improve the effectiveness
\nof its military, Psaki added, urging the government to investigate
\nallegations of abuses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States hit back Wednesday at allegations by the Nigerian ambassador of failing to help fight Boko Haram militants, saying there had been \u201ca great deal\u201d of US aid…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n