At least 10 people were killed and several others injured when a Nigerian military fighter jet, pursuing bandits in the northwestern state of Sokoto, accidentally bombed civilian targets on Wednesday.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu confirmed the casualties, saying that the military jets were on a mission to eliminate armed criminal groups terrorizing the region but mistakenly bombed innocent civilians in the villages of Gidan Sama and Rintuwa, located in the Surame local government area.
Aliyu stated that the state would work with other agencies to investigate the operation. The Nigerian military later accepted that it had attacked areas around Gidan Sama and Rintuwa, which were thought to be associated with the Lakurawa group, one of the insurgent factions that were known to operate in the region. Details of civilian casualties were not released.
The airstrike occurred around 0500 GMT, when two military jets dropped bombs on the villages. The Lakurawa group, reportedly infiltrating from neighbouring Niger and Mali, has been linked to the recent surge in violence in the region.
The northwest of Nigeria is experiencing a wide-scale insecurity problem, while the northeast continues to experience a protracted Islamist insurgency, and gang violence is affecting the southeast.
