At least 100 civilians, including children, were killed on Saturday after a Nigerian army airstrike hit a local market in Yobe State, near the border with Borno State, according to witnesses and the NGO Amnesty International.
This tragedy illustrates once again the risks to which civilian populations are exposed in northeastern Nigeria, which has been plagued for more than a decade by an armed insurgency.
Dozens of injured people were taken to a hospital in Geidam, where they are receiving treatment, a hospital official said.
The Nigerian army announced it had conducted a strike targeting a suspected hideout of Boko Haram fighters, who are active in the region. Local sources reported intelligence indicating the presence of militants near the market, suspected of planning attacks against neighboring communities.
However, the strike appears to have hit civilians gathered for the weekly market. Authorities acknowledged that civilians had been affected, but did not provide a detailed casualty count.
"We have their images, and among them are children," said a representative of Amnesty International, adding that the organization had collected testimonies from survivors and exchanged information with medical sources.
The NGO described the strike as a "mistake" and called for an independent investigation, in a context where this type of incident remains recurrent.
Since 2017, at least 500 civilians have been killed in poorly targeted airstrikes, according to available estimates. Analysts point to intelligence failures and a lack of coordination between air and ground operations.
Northeastern Nigeria remains the epicenter of a protracted conflict involving Boko Haram and other armed groups, with civilians often caught between military operations and insurgent attacks.
