by Eze Eluchie
The callousness in shooting down a fully laden passenger
plane is simply benumbing.
On September 1, 1983, the Air Force of the Soviet Union had shot down Korean Airlines passenger airplane, (KAL) flight 007, killing all 269 passengers on board. In that instance, Flight KAL-007 (an ominous name for a flight) had strayed into sensitive and highly secretive areas of Soviet airspace and according to Soviet authorities failed to heed several warnings to change course. No consequences issued as a result of the massacre of passengers aboard KAL-007.
The downing of Malaysia Airlines with 295 passengers on board, whilst in Ukrainian airspace, certainly constitutes an international crime for which there ought to be severe consequences to whosoever perpetrated the act.
When one realizes that hundreds of ‘Surface-to-air’ missiles, alongside other weapons in the arsenal of the Libyan Armed Forces, were distributed to the Libyan ‘general’ public on the orders of late Libyan dictator, Moamar Qhadafi, during the twilight days of his regime, with some of these weapons in the hands of terror groups (inclusive of Boko Haram, AQIM and Ansaru), the need to up efforts to root out terror became urgent yesterday.
On September 1, 1983, the Air Force of the Soviet Union had shot down Korean Airlines passenger airplane, (KAL) flight 007, killing all 269 passengers on board. In that instance, Flight KAL-007 (an ominous name for a flight) had strayed into sensitive and highly secretive areas of Soviet airspace and according to Soviet authorities failed to heed several warnings to change course. No consequences issued as a result of the massacre of passengers aboard KAL-007.
The downing of Malaysia Airlines with 295 passengers on board, whilst in Ukrainian airspace, certainly constitutes an international crime for which there ought to be severe consequences to whosoever perpetrated the act.
When one realizes that hundreds of ‘Surface-to-air’ missiles, alongside other weapons in the arsenal of the Libyan Armed Forces, were distributed to the Libyan ‘general’ public on the orders of late Libyan dictator, Moamar Qhadafi, during the twilight days of his regime, with some of these weapons in the hands of terror groups (inclusive of Boko Haram, AQIM and Ansaru), the need to up efforts to root out terror became urgent yesterday.
One of the busiest air routes in Africa, and globally, is
the Lagos – London corridor, with over 50 weekly flights by an array of
domestic and international carriers. The flight path on this route goes through
the airspace of such volatile States as Libya, across ungoverned territories in
the Sahara Desert and very much within the reach of Al Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb and several fringe elements in the region.
Is there a likelihood of a domestic or international flight in
Nigeria, or elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa being downed by Boko Haram, Al
Shabaab or the myriad of terror groups in the region?
Do these terror groups possess the capacity and desire to execute such a heinous act?
If, as I believe, the answers to the above questions are in the affirmative, what remedial actions can be taken to forestall such copy-cat acts of terror?
Do these terror groups possess the capacity and desire to execute such a heinous act?
If, as I believe, the answers to the above questions are in the affirmative, what remedial actions can be taken to forestall such copy-cat acts of terror?
If timely action is not taken to frontally confront terror groups across sub-Saharan Africa, it will not be a matter of 'if', but 'when', with regards to one of our Big Birds being brought down, with high human fatalities, by these fringe elements.
In the light of the MH-17 massacre, there is an urgent need
to enhance and strengthen the near non-existent Public Airspace safety
infrastructure across Africa.
Picture: One of the shoulder-held surface-to-air missiles
carted away from Libyan Army arsenal, now in the possession of terrorists
across sub-Saharan Africa.
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