It is said to be a ‘routine anti-terrorist mission’ of the Nigerian Air Force. Instead, a drone strike on a village in the northwestern state of Kaduna accidentally killed at least 85 civilians. The search for even more victims continues.
The Nigerian Armed Forces admitted on Monday that a drone strike targeting rebels accidentally hit villagers celebrating a Muslim festival in Tudun Biri village on Sunday evening. The army had previously denied attacking the celebrating Muslims. The allegations were first made by Samuel Aruwan, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Security in Kaduna. According to Aruwan, the air force was “on a routine mission against terrorists.”
The victims include many women and children
The army initially did not provide information on the number of deaths; according to Nigeria’s Civil Protection Agency, 85 dead have already been buried after the attack. More than 60 people were injured. The search for even more victims continues. Villagers also spoke of 85 deaths, including many women and children.
The Nigerian armed forces are fighting the Islamist terror group Boko Haram and violent bandit militias in the northwest and northeast of the country. Military drones are often used. The gangs are mainly active in northwestern Nigeria; their bases are deep in the forests. They raid and plunder villages and kidnap residents to extort money for ransom.
Millions of people have been displaced during the fighting
Jihadists also controlled large areas in northeastern Nigeria, but were recently pushed back. Since 2009, more than 40,000 people have been killed in fighting and two million people have been displaced.
In the past, the military has been accused several times of accidentally killing civilians during airstrikes. In the small town of Rann in the northeastern state of Borno, the air force accidentally bombed a camp for internally displaced persons in 2017, killing more than a hundred people.
Source: Krone
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