16 Killed As Airstrike Tragedy Hits Zamfara Community

At least 16 people were killed when an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) mistakenly hit members of the Zamfara Community Protection Guard (ZCPG), local vigilantes, and residents of the Tungar Kara community in the Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Saturday evening, injuring themselves in the incident.

armed bandits fled the area shortly after the incident, according to eyewitnesses.

Local vigilantes and residents, who were defending their community against the attackers, were reportedly caught in the airstrike.

The incident was confirmed by a lawmaker from the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Maharazu Salisu Gado Faru.

He claimed that the airstrike was an accident and that it had targeted neighborhood vigilantes who had mobilized to fight the bandits.

The lawmaker claims that the death toll is unknown at this time.

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The Headquarters Sector 3 Joint Task Force North East Operation Hadin Kai was conducted by (FILES) Troops in formation on September 2, 2023, during the wreath-laying ceremony at a Heroes Cenotaph in Monguno, northern Borno. (Photo: Facebook/HQ Nigerian Army)

A formal response to the incident has not yet been issued by the military.

However, earlier on Sunday, the Nigerian Air Force released a statement praising the success of Kachallah Bello Turji’s coordinated air-to-ground assault, Operation Fansan YAMMA, which targeted the area’s notorious bandit leader’s stronghold at Fakai Hills.

In the statement, Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa, spokesperson for the Air Force, highlighted the operation’s success in neutralizing scores of bandits and freeing several kidnapped victims.

The Air Force hailed the mission as a significant step in Zamfara State’s effort to restore order and security.

In the northeast and northwest of the country have there been previous instances of civilian bombings carried out by the military against jihadists and bandits.

Since the December 25 bombing of two villages in a raid targeting jihadists in neighboring Sokoto state, the Zamfara incident was the second deadly accidental airstrike to kill civilians.

At least 85 people, mostly women and children, were killed in a Tudun Biri community in northwestern Kaduna state in a December 2023 airstrike carried out by a Nigerian military, who had identified a Muslim religious gathering as bandits.