Several civilians killed in Nigeria by military airstrike targeting rebels, officials say

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Government airstrikes targeting rebels in Nigeria’s northwest after an attack on a police division killed several civilians, authorities said Monday.

The Nigerian air force did not disclose the number of civilians killed in the Safana area of Katsina state but spokesperson Olusola Akinboyewa said in a statement that an investigation was underway to verify the casualties.

Akinboyewa called the reports of civilian casualties “deeply troubling” and said the air force carried out the strike in response to a rebel attack on a police division.

Amnesty International said at least 10 people were killed in the airstrike in a statement Sunday. The rights group described the airstrike as the latest in a series of human rights violations by the Nigerian military and urged the government to carry out an independent investigation.

It was the second time this year that a military airstrike killed civilians in the restive northwestern region of Nigeria.

In January, a Nigerian military airstrike targeting armed groups in Zamfara state mistakenly killed a number of civilians working in community security outfits.

Nigeria’s military often conducts air raids to battle extremists who have destabilized the country’s north. The air raids have killed some 400 civilians since 2017, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm.

In December 2023, more than 80 civilians were mistakenly killed during a religious gathering in the northern Kaduna state. In May 2024, the Nigerian military said two of its personnel would face a court martial over the killings. However, it never released the investigation’s findings, continuing a trend that rights groups have criticized as a lack of transparency.