Drone strike accidentally kills 85 civilians
Tudun Biri villagers residents were celebrating a Muslim festival when the drone struck
Daily TribuneTudun Biri villagers residents were celebrating a Muslim festival when the drone struck
A Nigerian army drone strike has accidentally killed at least 85 civilians in a village in northwest Kaduna State, officials said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday ordered an investigation after the army acknowledged one of its drones aimed at armed groups accidently struck the Tudun Biri village as residents were celebrating a Muslim festival on Sunday.
"The Northwest Zonal Office has received details from the local authorities that 85 dead bodies have so far been buried while search is still ongoing," National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
NEMA said another 66 people were being treated at hospital, but emergency officials were still negotiating with community leaders to calm tensions to be able to reach the village.
Nigeria's armed forces often rely on air strikes in their battle against bandit militias in the northwest and northeast of the country, where jihadists have been fighting for more than a decade.
"President Tinubu describes the incident as very unfortunate, disturbing, and painful, expressing indignation and grief over the tragic loss of Nigerian lives," the presidency said in a statement.
The army had said its drone was a routine mission that "inadvertently affected members of the community."
"I was inside the house when the first bomb was dropped… We rushed to the scene to help those affected and then a second bomb was dropped," local resident Idris Dahiru told Agence France-Presse.
"My aunt, my brother's wife and her six children, wives of my four brothers were among the dead. My elder brother's family are all dead, except his infant child who survived."
Nigerian military bombing raids have accidently hit civilians in the past.