§ 1. The Swedish, British and Canadian Representatives invited by the Federal Military Government to observe the conduct of the 238W Federal troops in the war affected areas visited the First Nigerian Division during the period 25th September—30th September 1968. The Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General travelled with the group. This report covers this particular visit.
§ 2. On arrival in Enugu the group split into two teams, one visiting the area of 1 Sector from Enugu through Awgu to Obinago Obilago and the other visiting the area of 2 Sector from Abakaliki south to the front lines. Each team visited front line positions, military units and headquarters, villages, market places, medical and food distributing stations, refugee camps and major cities and towns. The Observers talked to officers, soldiers, local inhabitants, refugees, members of the civil administration, police, Red Cross officials and missionaries.
§ 3. Throughout the period of their visit the Observers received the fullest co-operation from the military and civilian officials. They encountered no restrictions to their movements or investigations and none of their requests were refused. Representatives of the press were free to accompany the Observers and did so on several occasions.
§ Conduct of Federal Troops
§ 4. The Observers found the Federal troops in the areas they visited to be alert, cheerful and well disciplined. They neither saw nor heard any evidence that the troops had committed acts with intent to destroy wholly or in part the Ibo people or their property. The observers did see considerable evidence that the troops in the area were assisting the local population, in particular by feeding them until the civil administration and the Red Cross could take over the responsibility.
§ Conduct of the civilian population
§ 5. Discussions with village leaders and refugees confirm that the Ibo people feared the Federal troops until they actually met them. This fear is the result of the actual fighting and the propaganda put out by the rebels which leads the Ibos to believe the Federal troops will kill them. Once some of their people make contact with the Federal troops this fear is rapidly allayed. The Observers saw a number of village leaders who had just come out of hiding and noted that the numbers of inhabitants returning to the villages are increasing. The Observers considered it significant that in the villages visited the inhabitants displayed no fear of Federal soldiers, even when these soldiers arrived in their midst suddenly. However, it was also noted that very few of the more educated Ibos have yet appeared in areas occupied by Federal troops.
§ Restoration of normal life
§ 6. The major problems in facilitating the return to normal life in the war affected areas visited include the provision of food and 239W medical facilities and the restoration of buildings and public services such as water, power, etc. The Observers noted that
- (a) When an area is first occupied the army provides the civilians found there with the foodstuffs necessary to supplement the food that is available. This responsibility is taken over as rapidly as possible by the civil administration and the Red Cross—assisted where necessary by soldiers. These arrangements appear to have been adequate to date, but from what was seen it is apparent that they will not be sufficient to handle the task if the people continue to come out of the bush at the present rate. A contributing problem is the lack of money in the hands of the people.
- (b) The major medical problem observed was the malnutrition caused by a poorly balanced diet. The problem exists in normal times in this area but it has been accentuated in the case of those people who lave spent a long time hiding in the bush. The army, missionaries and Red Cross are doing a good job but their efforts are hampered by a shortage of drugs, reported to be caused by difficulties in transportation from Lagos. In addition, the numbers of medical personnel do not appear to be sufficient to handle a large increase in the numbers requiring attention for example, the Observers noted in Nenwe that there was an increase from 100 on 21st September to about 1,500, mostly women and children when the medical team returned on 28th September.
- (c) In the areas where fighting took place there is a considerable amount of physical destruction. This is the result of deliberate destruction of public utilities attributable to the rebels when retreating, destruction by shellfire, the use of materials for shelter by soldiers, the inevitable looting by civilians, and deterioration caused by the weather. No damage was seen in villages visited that were not in the areas affected by the fighting. Some action has been taken by military and civil officials to preserve property.
§ Summary
§ 7. In summary, in the areas of First Nigerian Division that the Observers visited they found.
- (a) Genocide. There is no evidence of any intent by the Federal troops to destroy the Ibo people or their property, and the use of the term genocide is in no way justified.
- (b) Conduct of Federal Troops. The troops in the area are taking positive action to obtain the confidence of the local population and assist them in re-establishing a normal life.
- (c) Conduct of civilian inhabitants. An increasing number of the inhabitants of the villages, almost all of whom are Ibo, are returning to their homes. The people who have returned to the villages display no fear of the Federal troops.
- (d) Food and medical assistance. These are being provided to the civilian population through the combined efforts of the army, the civil administration and the Red Cross. While the supply of food has been adequate, the supplies of drugs and medical
240 assistance in the area seems to be inadequate because of a shortage of transport, particularly air transport. This situation could become serious if an expected large increase in the number of refugees and people requiring such assistance takes place. - (e) Destruction of property. The Observers received no evidence of deliberate and unnecessary destruction of property by Federal troops. There has, however, been considerable destruction as a result of the War, and the work required to repair this situation, which is just beginning, will be very expensive.
§ Future plans
§ 8. The observers propose to make their next visit to the area of the Third Nigerian Marine Commando Division.