Residents of Nigeria’s northern Zamfara state reported that at least 16 civilians were killed in a martial strike when a pilot mistaken local self-defence forces for criminal gangs.
One native ,Sa’idu Ibrahim, told AFP that the team was returning to their villages after chasing after the thieves who had attacked Dangebe when the fighter plane bombed them on their way to Tungar Kara village.
Bube Namare, a native resident, said that the citizens of Dangebe had contacted around 15 near villages seeking help as motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked the town, setting houses on fire and stealing animal.
The number of bodies discovered has increased, according to Namare, but it may so as more bodies are being discovered this day.
In the ongoing war against jihadists and robbers in Nigeria’s north and west, there have been numerous instances of martial airstrikes targeted at civilians. At least 85 people, mainly women and children, were killed in a falsely targeted Nigerian military attack in Tudun Biri, a neighborhood in northern Kaduna position, in December 2023.
In January 2017, a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40, 000 people displaced by jihadist violence in the town of Rann, near the Cameroon border, killing at least 112 individuals. These incidents highlight the ongoing dangers that civilians face as a result of military operations.
