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A Nigerian warplane mistakenly attacked a rural market while targeting Boko Haram militants in the country’s northeast, killing over 100 people. This information has been confirmed by a local official and an international human rights organization.
On Sunday (April 12), the international human rights organization Amnesty International stated in a social media post that more than 100 people were killed and 35 others injured in the attack. Local Chief Lawan Janna Nur Geidam told AFP news agency, “The total number of casualties is around 200.”
The attack took place in Zilli village, Yobe state, which borders Borno state, a stronghold of Boko Haram. The Nigerian Air Force issued a statement mentioning that Boko Haram fighters were killed in an airstrike conducted along the Zilli axis in Borno state, but made no mention of an attack on a market. Later, the Yobe state government issued a statement confirming that an airstrike had been carried out near a market in their state, where civilians were present.
Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, military advisor to the Yobe state government, said, “Some people who came from Borno state to Zilli’s weekly market were affected by this incident.” However, he did not provide further details.
Janna Nur reported that the injured were taken to hospitals in nearby Geidam and Maiduguri. Amnesty International strongly condemned the attack, stating, “Airstrikes are in no way a legitimate method of law enforcement. Such indiscriminate use of lethal force is illegal and reprehensible.”
The organization urged Nigerian authorities to “immediately and impartially investigate the incident and hold those responsible accountable.”
Source: Al Jazeera.