[b]It was precisely on the morning of February 2, 2013. We had landed in the city of Gao on board a Nigerian Air Force aircraft carrying Seyni Garba, the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Niger and many senior officers in the military hierarchy. The plane landed at an airport still bearing the scars of the strikes of recent battles but well secured by the Nigerian Army.

Lieutenant Colonel Roger Gabriel Issa, the Commander of the Nigerian battalion, did not know we were gone Gao to stay a little longer than initially planned, along with his men. (This he only discovered when the plane took off to return to Niamey with the rest of the delegation). But this was only a postponement. When we informed him that we wanted to just do our job as journalists, the officer received us warmly at the location where the Nigerian soldiers had erected their headquarters. His men immediately accepted, housed us and ensured we were secured.

We would be pleasantly surprised when we were allocated a room complete with beds and other facilities to ensure our comfort at their base (a vocational training centre that had been destroyed and vandalised in the fighting). Men and weapons cohabit. One surprise, though, was that we were p[b]ut under close observation by the soldiers, while on our part, we recalled previous warnings ''… to beware of the military, to get away from it as if it is dangerous.” The first hours of observation passed.

As journalists, we watched them with a sense of suspicion and fear, while some of the soldiers, not also understanding who we, civilians dressed in simple shirts, were doing in such a place—a theatre of war. To them, we must have seemed a little odd at first. But the mutual suspicion soon dissipated and mistrust gave way to confidence. We were accepted without eventually, the officers and troops became quite friendly in every way available and were very courteous.

The men of Lieutenant Colonel Roger Gabriel adopted us as their own, and gave us everything we needed during the two weeks we were to spend with them. We ate together and spent hours together in an atmosphere of familiarity. We accepted each other the more with each passing day, so much so that on the day of departure, we parted with remorse, like old friends who came together after a long separation and wanted to spend just a few more days to record many more good memories (to be recalled later). They were particularly fussy about our living conditions and our security. All our trips were done under escort and with much care.
Read more http://www.gaskiya.net/[/b][/b]

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Dont even know what to comment. But let me acknowlegde the efforts of our soldiers and thank them for tgeir efforts. May God bless them all.