We reported a few days ago , no fewer than 100 innocent civilians were killed in an accidental air strike by men of the Nigerian Air Force of ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ in the North-East, in a coordinated attack on a supposed group of terrorists gathering in Kala Balge Local Government Area of the state.
The air strike was reportedly carried out on one of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in Rann, the headquarters of Kala Balge council, in which civilians were killed, while two soldiers, staff of International Committee of Red Cross, ICRC and Medicine San Frontiers, were critically wounded.
While speaking on the tragic incident a news conference held at the Theatre Command Headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole on Wednesday, Major-General Lucky Irabor, said upon receiving an intelligence report that some Boko Haram elements were regrouping in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, he quickly ordered men of the Air Force to address the problem.
According to Vanguard, he regretted that the strike was conducted in the area, and unfortunately locals and other civilians were killed alongside remnants of insurgents, who were regrouping.
“This morning (yesterday), we received reports about gathering of Boko Haram terrorists somewhere in Kala Balge Local Government area of Borno State. We got a coordinate and I directed that the air should go to address the problem.
“Unfortunately, the strike was conducted but it turned out that the locals somewhere in Rann were affected.
“We are yet to get the details of the casualties. But we heard that some civilians were killed, others were wounded and we also have two of our soldiers that were also wounded. Among some that were wounded were local staff of the Medecines Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) as well as ICRC,” Irabor said.
Also confirming the incident, military spokesperson, Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar confirmed the incident but explained that it was an error that the military deeply regrets, adding that soldiers got information of movement of Boko Haram members and deployed ground troops and air cover to tackle the terrorists.
It was the air support that mistakenly dropped the bomb, he said.
It was further learned that the state government has already ordered all hospitals in Maiduguri to be prepared to receive and promptly treat the injured. Also, an International Red Cross, ICRC, helicopter has been deployed to the camp to evacuate the wounded to the various hospitals.
