CONTROVERSY is currently trailing the reported bombing of scores of civilians in Tumfa village market in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Reports emerged on Tuesday, May 12, that about 100 people were killed by military airstrike on the community, as part of efforts to stamp out insurgents in Nigeria.
Reacting to the claim, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said the operation only targeted armed groups gathered in a known terrorist enclave.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Michael Onoja, the DHQ described reports of mass civilian deaths as misleading, speculative and unverified.
The ICIR reports that a military airstrike on a market in Tumfa community allegedly killed at least 117 people and left several others injured, with residents claiming that both bandits and civilians were among the casualties.
According to a Daily Trust’s report, the bombardment took place on Sunday, the same day a separate Nigerian Air Force operation targeting armed groups hit Guradnayi, a community near Kusasu in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, reportedly killed 13 civilians.
In its statement, the DHQ said the May 10 operation was carried out by troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA following intelligence reports that suspected terrorist kingpins had gathered there to coordinate attacks on communities across the North-West.
The DHQ said the mission involved an air interdiction strike and noted that it was impossible to immediately determine casualty figures from the air operation. It maintained that a post-strike Battle Damage Assessment confirmed that several terrorists were neutralised.
The DHQ rejected allegations of civilian casualties, arguing that no credible or independently verified evidence had established that civilians were affected during the operation. It insisted that the target location was occupied solely by armed non-state actors posing a direct threat to innocent residents.
However, community leaders and residents who spoke with AFP described how the deadly bombardment allegedly killed traders, food vendors, residents and bandits.
Residents said the market, located deep inside a forested area of Zurmi Local Government Area, had become a stronghold controlled by armed groups where civilians and bandits mixed freely due to the collapse of government authority in surrounding communities.
According to the report, a community leader, Garba Mashema, said the exact number of casualties remained unclear because both residents and armed groups regularly patronised the market.
According to the locals, dozens of injured victims were evacuated to hospitals in Shinkafi, Zurmi and Gusau for treatment.
The incident has since drawn condemnation from Amnesty International, which called for an independent probe into the strike.
The organisation alleged that more than 100 civilians were killed.
The rights group added that survivors described chaotic scenes at the market after the bombardment, with bodies scattered across the ground and injured victims rushed to hospitals in Zurmi, Shinkafi and Gusau.
The Zamfara incident has also revived concerns over previous military airstrikes that reportedly hit civilians in conflict-ridden parts of northern Nigeria.
The ICIR reported that at least six children were killed during a military airstrike in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger on Sunday.
The children were said to be among about 15 civilians killed during the incident in Guradnayi, a village near Kusasu, where some villagers fleeing attacks by armed bandits were said to have taken shelter before the bombardment.
