Nigerian Soldiers still detained in Burkina Faso after forced landing – Tuggar

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has confirmed that the Nigerian Air Force personnel that made an unplanned landing in Burkina Faso earlier this week are still being held in the country.
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Minister Tuggar made the confirmation on Thursday during a press briefing with his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Bakari, at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja.
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The incident, which involves a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 aircraft carrying 11 military personnel, has ignited diplomatic talks between Nigeria and the military regimes of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
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The aircraft was on a mission to Portugal when the crew observed a technical issue that required a precautionary landing at Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. The aircraft entered Burkinabe airspace without authorization, which they see as a violation of their nation’s sovereignty.
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Meanwhile, the landing was in compliance with the well stipulated International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and international aviation protocols for emergency landings.  The violation occurred in defiance of international law, which led the AES to authorize member states to neutralize any aircraft violating their airspace.
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‎Tuggar stated that diplomatic talks are ongoing with the Burkinabe junta leader, Ibrahim Traoré, to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
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