Pretoria’s diplomats are contending that “Nigeria is obsessed with its competitive attitude towards South Africa”.

“The Nigerians have flatly refused our search and rescue missions, the same way they initially refused international assistance during the search for the missing girls,” said a senior South African government official involved in the mission to bring the bodies of citizens home.

“They feel that this could send a politically worrying message that they don’t have capacity. The reality is that our search and rescue teams and sniffer dogs are the best on the continent,” said the official.

South Africa’s rescue teams have remained on standby.

Available: http://mg.co.za/article/2014-09-18-africas-giants-tense-up-over-nigerian-church-tragedy