The Nigerian air force killed more than 100 civilians at a refugee camp by accident in an air strike on Tuesday against Islamist militant group Boko Haram in the northeast, a military official said.
Regional military commander General Lucky Irabor said the strike took place on Tuesday morning in Borno state.
Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments, however, this is the first time that the Nigerian army has accepted accountability.
Somehow, some civilians were killed. We are yet to ascertain the number of persons killed in the air strike. Many civilians including personnel of International Committee of the Red Cross and Medicins Sans Frontieres were wounded.General Lucky Irabor, Regional Military Commander
ICRC and MSF could not immediately be contacted for a comment.
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in the last few weeks as the end of the rainy season has enabled its fighters to move more easily in the bush. The northeast has been the focus of the jihadist group's seven-year-old bid to create an Islamic caliphate.
Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by Air Force bombardments, according to the freed girls' parents.
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