More than 100 civilians, including women and children, are feared to have been killed after a Nigerian military airstrike struck a crowded market in the country’s north-east, in what officials have described as a tragic mistake.
The attack took place on Saturday in Yobe State, near the border with Borno, the heartland of a protracted insurgency led by Boko Haram. Witnesses said the strike hit a weekly market at a time when it was filled with traders, farmers and families, turning a routine day of commerce into a scene of devastation.
Survivors described chaos as explosions ripped through the area, killing scores instantly and leaving many others severely wounded. Bodies were reportedly scattered across the market, while rescuers worked frantically to evacuate the injured. Dozens of victims were taken to a hospital in Geidam, where medical staff have been struggling to cope with the scale of the casualties.
Local officials acknowledged that the strike had resulted in significant civilian deaths, though no official toll has been released. A worker at the Geidam hospital said many of the injured were in critical condition, raising fears that the number of fatalities could rise further.
The Nigerian military said the operation had targeted what it believed to be a gathering of militants linked to Boko Haram. According to security sources, intelligence reports had indicated that fighters were assembling near the market and planning attacks on surrounding communities. Air power was deployed in an effort to neutralise the threat before it could materialise.
However, evidence gathered from the scene suggests that the strike missed its intended target, instead hitting civilians who had gathered for the weekly market. Authorities have conceded that non-combatants were among those killed, describing the incident as an operational error, but have offered few details about how the miscalculation occurred.
Amnesty International said it had verified the deaths of at least 100 civilians through interviews with survivors, medical personnel and local sources. The organisation reported that many of the victims were children and called for an urgent, independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the strike.
“This appears to be a deeply tragic mistake with devastating consequences for civilians,” a representative said, adding that the scale of the casualties raised serious questions about the military’s targeting procedures and safeguards.
The incident is the latest in a series of accidental airstrikes that have claimed civilian lives during Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaign. Since 2017, hundreds of non-combatants are believed to have been killed in similar incidents, fuelling criticism of the military’s reliance on aerial bombardment in densely populated or poorly mapped areas.
Analysts have pointed to persistent weaknesses in intelligence gathering, including an over-reliance on incomplete or unverified information. Others have highlighted shortcomings in coordination between air and ground forces, which can lead to misidentification of targets, particularly in regions where militants and civilians often occupy the same spaces.
The north-east remains the epicentre of one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. Boko Haram and its splinter factions have waged an insurgency for more than a decade, seeking to establish an extremist state. The violence has displaced millions of people and left communities heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance.
For residents of Yobe and neighbouring Borno, the latest strike has intensified an already pervasive sense of insecurity. Civilians in the region face the dual threat of insurgent attacks and military operations, with limited means of protection from either.
Community leaders have called for greater caution in the conduct of military operations, urging authorities to prioritise civilian safety and improve the accuracy of intelligence used to guide airstrikes. There are also growing demands for transparency, with calls for the findings of any investigation to be made public.
The Nigerian military has yet to indicate whether it will open a formal inquiry into the incident. In previous cases, internal reviews have often been slow or lacking in detail, contributing to a sense of mistrust among affected communities.
Human rights groups argue that accountability is essential, not only to deliver justice for victims but also to prevent future tragedies. Without meaningful reforms, they warn, the risk of further errors remains high.
As families in Yobe begin to bury their dead, the full human cost of the strike is still emerging. For many, the loss is immeasurable: loved ones killed, livelihoods destroyed, and a fragile sense of normality shattered in an instant.
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