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Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Amnesty calls for probe into ‘reckless' Nigerian military air strike
A military air strike in northwest Nigeria has killed at least 20 people, according to the military and local residents, prompting calls from human rights groups for an investigation into the attack. The strike occurred over the weekend in Zamfara state, one of the regions worst affected by violence from armed groups, commonly referred to as 'bandits'. Nigerian Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said the strike followed intelligence that 'a significant number of terrorists were massing and preparing to strike unsuspecting settlements'. 'Further intelligence confirmed that the bandits had killed some farmers and abducted a number of civilians, including women and children,' Ejodame said in a statement, adding that two local vigilantes were killed and two others injured in the crossfire. However, according to residents cited by the AFP news agency, a group of local vigilantes pursuing a gang was mistakenly bombed by a Nigerian military jet. The air force had been called in by villagers who had suffered an attack earlier in the weekend. Locals said an unknown number of people were also wounded in the strike. 'We were hit by double tragedy on Saturday,' said Buhari Dangulbi, a resident of the affected area. 'Dozens of our people and several cows were taken by bandits, and those who trailed the bandits to rescue them were attacked by a fighter jet. It killed 20 of them.' Residents told AFP that the bandits had earlier attacked the villages of Mani and Wabi in Maru district, stealing cattle and abducting several people. In response, vigilantes launched a pursuit to recover the captives and stolen livestock. 'The military aircraft arrived and started firing, killing at least 20 of our people,' Abdullahi Ali, a Mani resident and member of a local hunters' militia, told the Reuters news agency. Another resident, Ishiye Kabiru, said: 'Our vigilantes from Maraya and nearby communities gathered and went after the bandits. Unfortunately, a military jet struck them.' Alka Tanimu, also from the area, added: 'We will still have to pay to get those kidnapped back, while the cows are gone for good.' Amnesty International condemned the strike and urged a full investigation. 'Attacks by bandits clearly warrant a response from the state, but to launch reckless air strikes into villages – again and again – is absolutely unlawful,' the rights group said. Nigeria's military has previously acknowledged mistakenly hitting civilians during air operations targeting armed gangs. In January, at least 16 vigilantes were killed in a similar strike in Zamfara's Zurmi district. In December 2022, more than 100 civilians were killed in Mutunji village while pursuing bandits. A year later, an attack on a religious gathering in Kaduna state killed at least 85 people.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Nigerian military air strike kills at least 20 civilians: residents
KANO: A Nigerian military air strike in the country's embattled northwest has killed at least 20 civilians, three residents told AFP on Monday. A group of local vigilantes were struck over the weekend as they were pursuing a criminal gang in Zamfara state, the residents said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Nigerian army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incident is the latest in an air campaign that has killed hundreds of civilians in recent years as Nigeria battles various armed groups, from jihadists to criminal gangs known as "bandits". The bandits had attacked Mani and Wabi villages in Maru district, stealing cattle and kidnapping dozens of people, residents told AFP. Residents of nearby Maraya village and neighbouring communities mobilised and launched a pursuit to free the hostages and the cattle, according to locals. But a military jet which deployed to assist the community after people in the area alerted security personnel mistook the volunteers for the bandits and bombed them between Maraya and Wabi, the sources said. "We were hit by double tragedy on Saturday. Dozens of our people and several cows were taken by bandits and those who trailed the bandits to rescue them were bombed by a fighter jet. It killed 20 of them," resident Buhari Dangulbi said. Bandits have wreaked havoc for years in Nigeria's northwest, operating in broad swathes of relatively ungoverned countryside. Unlike their jihadist counterparts in the northeast of the country, their motivations are primarily economic. Military bombing campaigns against both bandits and jihadists have proven deadly for civilians caught in the crossfire. The incident Saturday was the third such to occur in Zamfara state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Our vigilantes from Maraya and nearby communities gathered and went after the bandits. Unfortunately, a military jet struck them," resident Ishiye Kabiru said, also giving a toll of 20 dead. A third resident, Alka Tanimu said, gave the same toll, with similar details, noting "we will still have to pay to get those kidnapped back while the cows are gone for good". Hundreds killed over the years In January, at least 16 people were killed in a military airstrike after a jet mistook local vigilantes for criminal gangs terrorising communities in Zurmi district of Zamfara state. In December 2022, more than 100 civilians were killed when a jet pursuing fleeing bandits bombed Mutunji village in Zamfara's Dansadau district. In December last year, 10 people were killed and six others injured when a jet hit two villages while bombing the position of Lakurawa jihadists in Sokoto state. In December 2023, a Nigerian military airstrike mistook a religious gathering of Muslim faithful for bandits in Tudun Biri community in northwestern Kaduna state, killing at least 85, mostly women and children. In January 2017, at least 112 people were killed when a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40,000 people displaced by jihadist violence in the town of Rann near the border with Cameroon.
