The Nigerian military carried out an airstrike on Sunday that hit a market in Tumfa, a community in Zamfara state, according to Amnesty International, which says around 100 civilians were killed. The rights group’s Nigeria director, Isa Sanusi, told The Associated Press that in one village alone, 80 people were buried after the strike. “There is no evidence that any of those people killed is a bandit,” Sanusi said. “They are all civilians. The majority of them are young girls and small boys.”
A Red Cross official in Zamfara, Ibrahim Bello Garba, confirmed the airstrike to the AP and said “multiple civilians” were killed, although he did not specify a number. Nigeria’s military acknowledged carrying out the airstrike but disputed Amnesty’s account. A spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, said, “No verifiable evidence of civilian casualties as being suggested in the media has been established.” He said that civilians are not targeted and that “everything is being done to avoid civilian casualties,” adding that military operations in the area continued.
Amnesty’s claim is the most recent allegation of an accidental military airstrike killing civilians in Nigeria, a country facing threats from militant groups including Boko Haram. Last month, an accidental strike by the air force killed 100 people. Analysts attribute such incidents to a lack of coordination between the air force and personnel on the ground; hundreds of civilians have died in the strikes. Nigerian officials maintain that their targets are members of armed groups, but those groups frequently mingle with local populations, making civilian areas difficult to avoid.
Sanusi described the aftermath vividly. “In one village alone, 80 people were buried and there is no evidence that any of those people killed is a bandit. They are all civilians. The majority of them are young girls and small boys,” he said. The military has not provided an alternative death toll or released details of its targets in the operation.