Airstrike kills 15 in Zamfara

Residents, who confirmed the Saturday’s incident in Zamfara villages to our reporter, said it occurred in the evening after the locals had chased out the bandits who planned to attack them.

They alleged that troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) mistook villagers for bandits.

A resident of Jan-Bako, who simply identified himself as Musa, said: “What happened was that a gang of bandits on Friday stormed the two villages that are close to one another with the intention to attack the residents. However, the residents engaged them in a gunfight and finally chased them away after spending some minutes exchanging fire with them.

“The following day (Saturday), the bandits regrouped and returned to the villages to accomplish their mission, but the residents resisted again. After exchanging fire, the bandits were forcefully pushed out from the villages.

READ ALSO:

• Father kills, buries son in Ondo for reportedly embarrassing family
• Youth minister backs Seyi Tinubu to lead Lagos as governor
• Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 5-2 in Spanish Super Cup

“Thereafter, the residents climbed the hills that surrounded the villages in order to have a clear view of the movements of the bandits in case they decided to return to the villages. While awaiting the return of the bandits on the hills, a military jet arrived and bombed the area, thereby killing 15 residents and injuring over 30 others.”

Another resident, Muhammad Aminu, also narrated: “We had prior knowledge about the coming of the bandits, hence, we prepared for them. When they arrived, we engaged them in a gunfight and successfully chased them from our villages.

“We were determined and Alhamdulillah, we won the fight. But unfortunately, the military fighter jet arrived and bombed the area, killing our people and injuring others. The airstrike took place after the bandits had left the area.”

Another resident, Auwalu Ibrahim, said: “I learnt that 15 people were killed and 16 injured persons were admitted at Bako General Hospital and about same figures of others are receiving medical treatment at Moriki General Hospital.

Yunusa Iliya, from Dumama, said: “It is unfortunate that after the residents had protected themselves against the bandits, a military fighter jet terminated the lives of some and injured others.

READ ALSO:

• Deby’s party secures majority in Chad election amid boycott
• 10-man Man United knock Arsenal out of FA Cup
• Peter Obi makes u-turn over his comment on alleged national grid collapse

“It is quite regrettable that the military fighter jet mistook the residents as bandits. The military ought to have obtained accurate information about the movement of the bandits so that civilians would not have been killed in the airstrike.”

A top police officer in Maradun Local Government Area, who prepared not to be mentioned, told Daily Trust that the victims were mostly members of the local vigilante group.

“The victims of the airstrike were bombed while chasing some bandits around Moriki town. The members of the vigilante group accompanied by personnel of the Zamfara Community Protection Guards (CPG), were pursuing a gang of bandits when the military fighter jet bombed them, killing scores of them and injuring several others.

“It was in the evening and you know our local security personnel normally dress in black. So, while they were walking, the military fighter jet sighted them and perceived them as bandits, hence, bombed them.

“Most of them are residents of Maradun town and according to a report, one CPG personnel and scores of members of the local vigilante group were killed; while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries during the airstrike.

“The NAF carried out a series of airstrikes in Zamfara state on Saturday and several bandits were killed and dozens of others sustained wounds. We also learnt that some kidnapped victims were rescued during the operation,” the police officer said.