Nigeria military acknowledges mistake in accidental bombing of a refugee camp
Nigeria鈥檚 accidental bombing of a refugee camp on Tuesday has put a spotlight on the struggles this African nation faces as it continues its fight against Islamic militants.聽
The strike, which initially intended to target Boko Haram extremists, mistakenly killed at least 76 civilians, and left at least 46 鈥渟everely injured,鈥� in a refugee camp. The Nigerian military has faced much criticism from multiple international organizations as they acknowledged making such a mistake for the first time.
The camp, which was set up by the United Nations in March in Rann, Borno state in a remote northeast region near the border with Cameroon, hosts 43,000 people who have fled Boko Haram.聽
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement Wednesday that to learn about the news.聽
鈥淭his has been a truly catastrophic event. Lives have been lost, and this in a designated site for the displaced,鈥� Mr. Grandi said. 鈥淎 full accounting has to take place so that the causes are known and measures can be put in place to ensure this never happens again.鈥�
Various sources have provided different accounts of the number of casualties, as neither the Nigeria Air Force nor the government have provided any official count.聽
The International Committee for the Red Cross estimated the death toll is at least 76 people, including six Nigeria Red Cross volunteers, and more than 100 people injured. The aid group M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res聽(MSF) said 52 people died and 120 were wounded from this air strike.聽Nigerian government officials told the Associated Press that more than 100 people, including refugees and aid workers, were killed.
The Red Cross said at least 90 patients remained in Rann, the聽epicenter of the area where the extremist group had attempted to change into an Islamic caliphate in the northeast for the past seven years.
While Nigeria鈥檚 President Muhammadu Buhari said recently they have crushed the militant group and driven it out of its strongholds, the strike followed several weeks of military offense against the group.聽
The massive civilian death tolls caused by the Nigeria Air Force鈥檚 strike, however, was seen as the first time that the officials acknowledged making such a mistake.聽
鈥渋n this late phase of a counterinsurgency is ham-fisted,鈥� said聽Matthew Page, a consultant who until recently was the State Department鈥檚 top expert on Nigeria, to The New York Times.聽鈥淭he Nigerian government would be wise to use carefully targeted, intelligence-driven operations, not aerial bombing campaigns, to mop up what鈥檚 left of Boko Haram.鈥�
In the region where the military continues to combat the Islamic extremists, who have killed more than 20,000 people and forcibly displaced 2.6 million, villagers have reported civilian casualties in near-daily bombings.
鈥淭he accidental bombing is not a true reflection of the level of professionalism,鈥� said Lai Mohammed, Nigeria鈥檚 information minister, according to Reuters.聽
This story includes material from the Associated Press and Reuters.
