Nigeria Airstrike, 200 Killed in Bombing of Market

Nigerian military planes bombed a local market, resulting in at least 200 people being killed.
The Nigerian Air Force targeted a village market in northeastern Nigeria during an operation against the militant group Boko Haram, with fears that dozens of people may have been killed. Local authorities and the international human rights organization Amnesty International have confirmed the incident. Amnesty International said in a statement released on social media on Sunday that more than 100 people were killed and 35 injured in the attack the previous day. Meanwhile, local chief Lawan Zana Giedam told AFP that the total number of casualties, including dead and injured, is approximately 200. The attack occurred in the village of Jili in Yobe state, near the border with Borno state, an area that has been a stronghold of the long-running insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions. The Nigerian Air Force said in a statement that it had killed Boko Haram fighters in an operation near Jili in Borno state, but did not mention targeting a market. Later, the Yobe state government acknowledged that the air strike hit near a market where people were shopping. Yobe state military advisor Brigadier General Dahar Abdulsalam said that some people from the Giedam area who were at the weekly market in Jili were affected by the attack. Amnesty International strongly condemned the attack, calling it unlawful and reckless. The organization demanded that Nigerian authorities conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the incident and bring those responsible to justice.