Nigeria Airstrike Targeting Bandits Kills 7 Children, Injures 5 Others In Niger Republic

Governor of the Maradi region, Chaibou Aboubacar has disclosed that an airstrike by the Nigerian Army targeting ‘bandits’ has killed seven children and wounded five others by mistake in Niger Republic.

Nigeria Airstrike Kills 7 Children In Niger Republic

Speaking on the development, Aboubacar said, “There was a mistake with the Nigerian strikes on the border that resulted in victims on our territory in the village of Nachade. The victims are 12 children, seven of them dead and five wounded.”

Four children died instantly and three others succumbed “to their injuries while being transported to hospital,” he said.

According to the governor, “the parents were attending a ceremony and the children were probably playing when the strikes hit them.”

He believes the planes were targeting “armed bandits” in the border areas, but “missed their target”, hitting Nachade instead.

Aboubacar said he visited the children’s graves on Saturday as well as the scene of the bombardment.

Several municipalities in the Maradi region are seriously affected by the violence of heavily armed gangs from the Nigerian states of neighbouring Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara.

KanyiDaily had also reported how a fighter jet operated by Nigerian Air Force mistakenly killed over 20 fishermen in its fight against Boko Haram Terrorists in Borno State.