News24 | Nigeria airstrike kills 100 at market, Amnesty says

Amnesty International claims at least 100 civilians have been killed in a Nigerian military airstrike on a crowded market.

According to Amnesty International, at least 100 civilians have been killed in a Nigerian military airstrike on a crowded market in the country’s northwest.

The rights group’s Nigerian office said the attack hit Tumfa market in Zamfara State on Sunday and is calling for an immediate investigation.

“The authorities must investigate these deadly strikes, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians,” Amnesty said on social media.

The Red Cross also confirmed the strike.

A spokesperson for Nigeria’s military, Major General Michael Onoja, told the AFP news agency reports of civilian deaths in Zamfara were “not true”.

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In a separate statement to the Associated Press, the military said, there was “no verifiable evidence of civilian casualties as being suggested in the media has been established”.

Rights group cites repeated civilian deaths in Nigerian air operations

Dozens of injured people are being treated in nearby hospitals, and many of the dead are reported to be women and girls, according to community leaders in the area.

Garba Ibrahim Mashema said:

“People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do.”

A Red Cross official in the state, Ibrahim Bello Garba, told the Associated Press that “multiple civilians” were killed.

Sunday’s strike follows another deadly market airstrike last month in Jilli, in northeastern Nigeria, in which around 200 civilians were killed.

“In parts of the north facing conflicts, civilians have borne the brunt of suffering far too often,” Amnesty said.

“These horrific deaths must not be overlooked.”

The strike comes as Nigeria is dealing with banditry and a jihadist insurgency in parts of the country, where profit-driven gangs raid villages, kidnap people and extort money in rural areas.

The groups are loosely organised and have both fought and cooperated with jihadist factions.

This article was originally published on dw.com.