At least 20 people have been reported killed in a military airstrike in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state over the weekend, according to residents and Amnesty International, with the rights group calling for an investigation into the incident.
The Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Residents reported that the airstrike occurred on Sunday in the villages of Maraya and Wabi in Zamfara state, a region heavily affected by attacks from armed groups, often referred to as bandits, that operate across Nigeria’s northwest.
The military operation was reportedly carried out by the Nigerian Air Force at the request of villagers who had experienced a bandit attack over the weekend, residents said. An unspecified number of people were also wounded.
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“The military aircraft arrived and started firing, killing at least 20 of our people,” Abdullahi Ali, a resident of Mani and a member of a local militia group of hunters, told Reuters by phone.
In the past, Nigeria’s military has acknowledged mistakenly targeting civilians while pursuing armed gangs in the northwest, where widespread insecurity prevails, and has pledged to investigate such incidents.
In January, a military airstrike resulted in the deaths of 16 people in Tungar Kara, another town in Zamfara.
Auwal Idris, another resident, stated that a jet dropped a bomb near where community guards were engaged in fighting with bandits, killing 20 of the guards.
Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the latest incident.
“Attacks by bandits clearly warrant a response from the state, but to launch reckless airstrikes into villages — again and again — is absolutely unlawful,” Amnesty said in a statement.
