- This incident has sparked widespread outrage, marking one of the nation’s largest military bombing tragedies
The United Nations (UN) strongly denounced an airstrike on a community in northern Nigeria, which tragically claimed the lives of numerous civilians due to a misinterpretation of events on the ground.
A Nigerian Army drone, intended to target armed groups, inadvertently caused the deaths of at least 85 civilians in northwest Kaduna State.
This incident has sparked widespread outrage, marking one of the nation’s largest military bombing tragedies.
In response, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an investigation after the army acknowledged that one of its drones mistakenly struck Tudun Biri town during festivities commemorating a Muslim festival.
The United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the occurrence, citing it as the latest in a series of bombings resulting in significant civilian casualties dating back to 2017.
“While we note that the authorities have termed the civilian deaths as accidental, we call on them to take all feasible steps in the future to ensure civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson, Seif Magango, said in a statement.
“They must review rules of engagement and standard operating procedures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.”