Nigeria: Military Mistakenly Bombs Refugee Camp, Estimated 100 Dead

Two million people in Nigeria, including the refugees seen here last March at the Bakassi refugee camp in Maiduguri, have been displaced by the war with jihadists in Nigeria since 2013. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Share this trending news with friends





A Nigerian state official says an air force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists has mistakenly bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers.

The Borno state government official is helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded. The official spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, the counter insurgency operation in the northeast, says he ordered the ill-fated military operation based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic co-ordinates. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Military commander Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor confirms the accidental bombardment in northeast Rann, near the border with Cameroon. The general says among the wounded are Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria’s military has admitted to making such a mistake.

Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

Irabor said he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic co-ordinates. It was too early to say if a tactical error was made, he said.

The general, who is the theater commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, said the Air Force would not deliberately target civilians but there will be an investigation.

Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by air force bombardments, according to the freed girls’ parents.



About the Author

Michael Onas
Africa - Online Founder & Senior Editor Africa - Online.Com was founded by Michael Onas in 1997, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in African news sector, with millions of readers around the world and followers on social media.