MAIDUGURI, June 2 — At least 20 people were killed on Sunday during a Nigerian military airstrike in Zamfara State, according to local residents and Amnesty International. The bombing struck the villages of Maraya and Wabi, both located in the country’s troubled northwest.
The Nigerian Air Force reportedly launched the strike following a plea for help from villagers under attack by armed groups known locally as bandits. Instead of neutralising the assailants, the strike hit civilians, including members of a community militia.
“The military aircraft arrived and started firing, killing at least 20 of our people,” said Abdullahi Ali, a local hunter from Mani village, speaking by phone to Reuters.
Another resident, Auwal Idris, said the airstrike hit an area where community guards were battling the attackers, resulting in 20 fatalities among the local defenders. Several others were wounded, though the exact number remains unclear.
Zamfara has seen repeated violence from heavily armed gangs targeting rural communities. The military has previously acknowledged civilian casualties in similar operations and pledged to investigate.
Amnesty International condemned the airstrike, urging Nigerian authorities to launch a full investigation. “Attacks by bandits clearly warrant a response from the state, but to launch reckless airstrikes into villages — again and again — is absolutely unlawful,” the rights group said in a statement.
The Nigerian Army and Air Force have yet to issue a response. In January, a similar operation in Zamfara’s Tungar Kara town resulted in 16 civilian deaths.
