Abuja – Sixteen people were killed in a recent military airstrike in Zamfara State, Africa’s Nigeria. According to a report, the military pilot mistook the local people’s defense force for a criminal gang and carried out the attack. The Nigerian military has been battling criminal gangs in the area for several days.
1. Gangs of criminals here attack villages, kidnap people for ransom, and burn their homes. As a result, ordinary citizens living there have formed a defense force, taking up guns for self- defense and driving away criminals.
🚨 Tragedy in Nigeria 🇳🇬
16 civilians killed in air strike. 🚫
Pilot mistakenly targets self-defence forces in Zamfara state. 🤦♂️
PC: @AfrikaKnow pic.twitter.com/ddD6xFAol5
— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) January 13, 2025
2. Recently, gangs of criminals (bandits) attacked Dangebe village in Zamfara state and looted many animals. After this, the villagers’ security forces attacked them with guns and chased them away. While they were returning, they were fired upon by fighter jets near Tungarkara village.
3. This is not the first time that such an airstrike has been carried out on civilians in Nigeria. Earlier in 2023, the Nigerian army accidentally fired on a religious gathering in the northwestern state of Kaduna, killing 85 people. In addition, 112 people were killed in an airstrike on a refugee camp in 2017.