Troops ordered out of Odi

President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered troops out of Odi, a town in Bayelsa State, where they had been sent to arrest a gang suspected of killing 12 policemen in November, according to news reports quoting Bayelsa Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. A news source told IRIN on Monday that the troops were preparing to withdraw. After the army sealed off Odi on 20 November, there were complaints that the troops had destroyed much of the town. However, it was unclear whether the destruction, described by news reports as extensive, was caused by the suspected killers as they retreated from the town or by the military. Alamieyeseigha inspected the devastated community at the weekend, blaming the crisis on gang leader Ken Neweigha, `The Guardian' reported. The newspaper said none of the townspeople complained of being raped or manhandled. Many, mostly women and children, said some of their relatives had run away. They also asked for food and medicine.