The Nigerian Air Force Has Faced Multiple Accusations Of Killing Civilians After Mistaking Them For Rebels And/Or Armed Gangs
Nigerian Air Force Accidentally Bombed Civilians During Friendly Fire Incident
Citizens of a small village in the Nigerian State of Katsina have accused the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) of targeting civilians, after one person was killed and dozens injured after a NAF missile struck the village.
The
Nigerian government has been targeting armed gangs and rebels in the
northern regions with airstrikes, with the side effect of innocents
being killed by friendly fire.
With
the most catastrophic friendly fire incident taking place in 2017,
when the NAF launched an airstrike on a camp believed to be operated
by rebels.
In
reality it was a camp set up to help displaced Nigerians and
Cameroonians.
The
bad intel on the camp resulted in the deaths of over 100
civilians and aid workers, the NAF still denies they operated on
false information.
The Nigerian
President, Muhammadu Buhari, has announced that his government will
be launching an investigation into the NAF's airstrikes to determine
if any of the targets held rebel cells or criminal gangs.
Stating: “The actions of our country's air force over the last five to seven years has made me sick, and I apologise to the families and communities scarred by the delinquency of our pilots killing innocent civilians instead of their intended targets.
We'll be conducting an intense review into such incidents of friendly fire by our air force, and swiftly punish those responsible"