Amnesty International says at least 100 civilians were killed when a Nigerian military airstrike hit a crowded market in the country’s northwest.
The rights group’s Nigerian office identified the site as Tumfa market in Zamfara State and called for an immediate, independent investigation into the strike. Amnesty said on social media that authorities must investigate the deadly strikes and “put an end to reckless attacks on civilians.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross also confirmed the strike. A Red Cross official in Zamfara, Ibrahim Bello Garba, told the Associated Press that “multiple civilians” were killed. Dozens of injured people are being treated in nearby hospitals, and community leaders said many of the dead were women and girls.
Local community leader Garba Ibrahim Mashema said, “Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market. People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do.”
Nigeria’s military has denied reports of civilian deaths. Major General Michael Onoja, a military spokesman, told AFP the reports were “not true.” In a separate statement to the Associated Press, the military said there was “no verifiable evidence of civilian casualties as being suggested in the media has been established.”
The Tumfa market strike follows another deadly airstrike on a market last month in Jilli, northeastern Nigeria, where around 200 civilians were reported killed. Amnesty said the repeated deaths of civilians in air operations across parts of northern Nigeria point to a worrying pattern and urged authorities not to overlook these “horrific deaths.”
The strikes come amid a wider security crisis in parts of Nigeria involving profit-driven gangs and jihadist insurgents. Armed bandit groups frequently raid villages, kidnap residents and extort money in rural areas; the groups are loosely organized and have at times fought and cooperated with jihadist factions.
Amnesty and other rights groups say independent investigations are needed to establish what happened, hold any responsible parties to account, and prevent further civilian harm. The military’s denials and calls for verification leave immediate questions about casualty figures and the strike’s circumstances unresolved.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez