Nigerian military airstrike kills 100 civilians at a market, rights group claims

Nigerian soldiers ride on an armored personnel carrier during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Maiduguri, in Borno state, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s military on Tuesday denied a rights group’s claim that an airstrike killed 100 civilians in a market over the weekend, as attention turned again to a long-running fight against armed groups in the country’s volatile north.

Amnesty International in a statement on Monday said a military airstrike on Sunday hit a market in Tumfa in Zamfara state. A Red Cross official in the state, Ibrahim Bello Garba, confirmed the strike to The Associated Press and said “multiple civilians” were killed.

“In one village alone, 80 people were buried and there is no evidence that any of those people killed is a bandit. They are all civilians. The majority of them are young girls and small boys,” Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi told the AP.

Nigeria’s military confirmed an airstrike to the AP but said “no verifiable evidence of civilian casualties as being suggested in the media has been established.”

“Civilians are not the target, and everything is being done to avoid civilian casualties,” said a spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, who said military operations continued in the area.

The Amnesty allegation is the latest of an accidental military airstrike hitting civilians in the West African nation that faces threats from groups including Boko Haram.

Last month, an accidental strike by Nigeria’s air force killed 100 people.

Analysts blame a lack of coordination between the air force and personnel on the ground for such strikes, which have killed hundreds of civilians. Nigerian officials have maintained that targets are members of armed groups.

Armed groups often mix with locals in areas where they operate, complicating efforts to target them.

The Associated Press