Nigerian military officials are pushing back against reports of massive civilian casualties following an airstrike earlier this month in the country’s northwest region.
Defense officials stated Wednesday they have found no confirmed evidence that non-combatants were killed during the May 10 aerial operation in Zamfara state, dismissing casualty reports as unconfirmed and inaccurate.
The human rights organization Amnesty International claimed earlier this week that the airstrike killed at least 100 civilians when it hit a busy marketplace in Tumfa village. The group called for authorities to launch an immediate inquiry into the incident.
According to Amnesty International, eyewitnesses reported that many victims were women and children. Similar casualty figures have appeared in local news reports.
“No credible, substantiated evidence of civilian casualties has been established through any official assessment or independent verification,” stated Major-General Michael Onoja, the spokesperson for Defense Headquarters.
Onoja explained that the military operation followed international humanitarian guidelines and was aimed at a “confirmed high-level gathering” of militant commanders in the village, based on intelligence from multiple sources.
The defense spokesperson acknowledged that verifying casualties immediately after such operations is challenging, but said follow-up assessments confirmed that “several terrorists were neutralised.”
Nigerian forces have been engaged in ongoing conflicts with criminal groups in the northwest region, typically referring to these armed groups as terrorists. The military is simultaneously fighting a 17-year-old Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeastern areas.
