TRAGEDY struck in the Tungar Kara community under Gidan Goga district of Maradun Local Government Area, Zamfara State, on Saturday evening, as an accidental airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) mistakenly hit members of the Zamfara Community Protection Guard (ZCPG), local vigilantes and residents, leaving at least 16 people dead.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred shortly after armed bandits raided the area and fled.
Local vigilantes and residents, who were defending their community against the attackers, were reportedly caught in the airstrike.
A lawmaker representing Maradun II Constituency in the Zamfara State House of Assembly Maharazu Salisu Gado Faru confirmed the incident.
He described the airstrike as an accident, stating that it targeted local vigilantes who had mobilized to counter the bandits.
According to the lawmaker, the exact death toll remains unconfirmed at this time.
The military authorities are yet to issue a formal response to the incident.
However, earlier on Sunday, the Nigerian Air Force released a statement detailing the success of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, a coordinated air-ground assault targeting the stronghold of notorious bandit leader Kachallah Bello Turji at Fakai Hills.
In the statement, Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa, spokesperson for the Air Force, highlighted the operation’s success in neutralizing scores of bandits and freeing several kidnapped victims.
The Air Force described the mission as a significant step toward restoring peace and security in Zamfara State.
There have been similar incidents in the past of bombings of civilians in the military’s battle against jihadists and bandits in the northeast and northwest.
The Zamfara incident was the second deadly accidental airstrike to target civilians since the December 25 bombing of two villages in a raid targeting jihadists in neighbouring Sokoto state.
In December 2023, a Nigerian military airstrike mistook a Muslim religious gathering for bandits in the Tudun Biri community in Kaduna state, killing at least 85 people, mostly women, and children.
In January 2017, at least 112 people were killed when a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40,000 people displaced by jihadist violence in the town of Rann near the border with Cameroon.