The Federal Government sent fighter jets in support of troops fighting Boko Haram Islamist insurgents into Adamawa State on Thursday, the second day of a military offensive that has divided opinion over how best to tackle the rebellion.
A Reuters reporter said he saw two Alpha jets land in the city of Yola, Adamawa State, one of the three over which President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, the other two being Borno and Yobe states.
Jonathan has beefed up troop deployments in the three states to counter increasingly bold and deadly attacks by Islamist group, Boko Haram.
Rights groups said they feared an escalation of the conflict that could cause large civilian deaths, but Jonathan’s move enjoys public support, after more than three years of trying to contain the insurgency have largely failed.
