Dozens of people were killed on
Tuesday when an air force jet
accidentally bombarded a camp in
northeast Nigeria for those made
homeless by Boko Haram Islamists.
The incident happened at about 9 : 00 am (0800 GMT ) in Rann , in the far north of Borno state, the epicentre of the jihadists’ insurgency , as aid workers distributed food to civilians who were forced to flee the violence.
A local resident , Abba Abiso , told AFP by telephone: “ This morning a
military jet mistakenly bombarded
Rann , instead of (nearby) Kala .
“ In recent weeks Boko Haram has
moved base to Kala from Sambisa
Forest and obviously a military jet
mistook Rann for Kala and
bombarded , killing many civilians .
“ At least 25 were killed and many
more injured . ”
The medical charity Doctors Without
Borders (MSF ) said in a statement:
“ MSF teams have seen 120 wounded and 50 dead following the bombing . ”
A senior military source in the Borno
state capital , Maiduguri , said the
casualties were “ huge ” , adding : “ A fighter jet hit the wrong target. ”
MSF said its teams were trying to
provide emergency first aid at its
facility in the camp and were
stabilising patients to evacuate the
wounded from the scene.
“ Our medical and surgical teams in
Cameroon and Chad are ready to
treat wounded patients. We are in
close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event, ” it
added .
The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC ), which also had
teams in the area , said only there
were “ a number of people wounded
and some killed ” , without specifying figures .
“ We are currently in contact with the
relevant authorities to organise
medical assistance and evacuations , ” an ICRC spokeswoman in Abuja said .
– ‘Fog of war’ –
Major General Lucky Irabor , who
heads the military operation against
the militants , said the air force had
been given coordinates of “ Boko
Haram terrorists” in the Kala - Balge
area .
“ Unfortunately the strike was
conducted but it turned out that the
locals somewhere in Rann were
affected, ” he told reporters at a
briefing in the Borno state capital ,
Maiduguri .
Irabor did not give casualty figures
but said local staff from MSF and the ICRC were among those wounded .
“ These are the result of fog of war, ”
he added. “ It is unfortunate . That is
the reason why this war must come to an end. ”
The bombing comes as Nigeria’ s
military claims further gains against
the Islamic State group affiliate ,
pushing them out of captured
territory and their remote bases in
Borno state.
Last month , the army said the conflict was in its final stages after nearly eight years of violence that has killed at least 20 ,000 and left more than 2 . 6
million others homeless.
There have been “ friendly fire”
incidents in the conflict .
In March 2014 a military jet killed
five civilians and wounded several
others when it mistakenly bombarded Kayamla village in Konduga district of Borno .
The jet mistook the village for a Boko Haram camp during a night raid.
In January that year , the convoy of a Nigerian senator was fired on by an air force jet which mistook the six - vehicle convoy under police and
military escort for Boko Haram
fighters .
No one was hurt and the military
described the incident as an
“ operational blunder ” .
