Earth Science News
AFRICA NEWS
Nigeria airforce kills 6 civilians in northeast by mistake
Nigeria airforce kills 6 civilians in northeast by mistake
by AFP Staff Writers
Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Feb 16, 2025

An army jet killed at least six civilians after mistakenly attacking them while pursuing gangs in northern Nigeria's Katsina state, residents told AFP on Sunday.

It dropped a bomb on a cluster of huts on the outskirts of Zakka village in Safana district on Saturday, three residents said.

The strike came after bandits attacked a police base in the village, killing two policemen and a vigilante assisting them, they added.

"The jet deployed after the bandits had withdrawn and circled the village before striking a cluster of huts belonging to a family outside the village, Muntari Sada, a Zakka resident, told AFP.

"Six members of the family were killed and their body parts had to be collected in bags for burial," said Sada, who attended their funeral.

His account was supported by two other residents who gave the same toll.

Amnesty International put the number of dead at 10, calling in a statement Sunday for an "impartial, transparent and immediate investigation".

The military did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Nigeria's armed forces have for years been fighting criminal gangs -- locally called bandits.

The groups terrorise communities in northwestern and central Nigeria where they raid villages, kill or abduct residents for ransom and burn homes after looting them.

This latest strike is the latest in a series of such incidents in the north of the country.

In January, a military airstrike killed at least 16 people in northwestern Zamfara state after an army jet mistook local vigilantes for criminal gangs active in Zurmi district.

Last December, a military jet killed 10 people and wounded six others when it hit two villages while bombing positions of Lakurawa jihadists in neighbouring Sokoto state.

In December 2023, a Nigerian military airstrike mistook a Muslim religious gathering for bandits in the Tudun Biri community in northwestern Kaduna state.

That attack killed at least 85 people, mainly women and children.

And in January 2017, at least 112 people were killed when a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40,000 people displaced by jihadist violence in the town of Rann near the border with Cameroon.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
AFRICA NEWS
France set to hand over sole military base in Ivory Coast
Abidjan (AFP) Feb 12, 2025
In a few days, France will hand over its only military base in Ivory Coast, its former star colony in west Africa, and both sides say the run up is proceeding seamlessly without any rancour. The 230-hectare (570-acre) Port-Bouet military camp flanking Ivory Coast's main city has been a fixture in the country's life for decades and helped stabilise the world's top cocoa producer after coups and unrest broke out in the stable nation after 2000. The withdrawal of French troops, announced by Ivoria ... read more

AFRICA NEWS
TEPCO takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris

UN watchdog chief visits Fukushima as Japan returns to nuclear power

Greece announces measures to support businesses on quake-hit islands

Los Angeles fire zones hit by mudslides after heavy rain

AFRICA NEWS
Colombia taxes online gambling to fund humanitarian response

NASA CubeSat Finds New Radiation Belts After May 2024 Solar Storm

Trump creates energy council to power AI race with China

Negative refraction of light achieved using atomic arrays instead of metamaterials

AFRICA NEWS
Arid Athens turns to ancient aqueduct as climate crisis bites

UK court backs loan for indebted Thames Water

Seeking climate connections among the oceans' smallest organisms

Cook Islands PM defends China pact

AFRICA NEWS
Ice streams move due to tiny ice quakes

Greenland glacier accelerates each day with weather and tide changes

Greenland ice crevasses escalate fueling further rise in sea levels

Arctic sea ice levels second lowest on record for January: US data

AFRICA NEWS
Pesticides causing widespread harm to animals and plants: study

Bordeaux wine harvest drops to lowest level since 1991

Hong Kong scientists fight to save fragrant incense trees

Drying and rewetting cycles amplify soil CO2 emissions

AFRICA NEWS
India capital shaken by 4.0-magnitude quake

Islanders keen to return to Santorini even as quakes continue

Quakes leave Greek tourist island on tenterhooks

Emergency declared on second Greek quake-hit island

AFRICA NEWS
Chad says nearly 300 militants killed in Boko Haram offensive

Nigeria airforce kills 6 civilians in northeast by mistake

France set to hand over sole military base in Ivory Coast

Sudan releases post-war roadmap, calls on int'l community to support it

AFRICA NEWS
New play takes on OpenAI drama and AI's existential questions

Trump signs order to get 'transgender ideology' out of military

How to Design Humane Autonomous Systems

Three million years ago our ancestors relied on plant-based diets

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.