The Knesset foreign affairs and security committee expressed the hope today that the Nigerian Government will permit Israeli volunteers to provide medical aid and distribute food to the stricken inhabitants of Biafra. The Knesset group’s statement referred to the area as East Nigeria, not Biafra. the national name adopted by the province when it seceded from Nigeria in 1966, precipitating a 30 month civil war. Since the Biafran surrender earlier this month, Nigerian authorities have shown a hostile attitude toward foreign countries and groups attempting to aid the Biafrans. According to unconfirmed reports, Nigeria plans to return Israeli drugs and other relief materials already sent to Biafra because of relief rendered to Biafran civilians by Israel during the civil war.
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