Rabat – An army drone strike has hit Muslims celebrating Maulid in Kaduna, Nigeria, in the latest incident of bombings.
According to residents, local authorities and the military, at least 85 civilians have been killed in a drone strike in Kaduna, as a drone strike mistakenly hit a local Muslim festival celebrating the Mawlid.
“Muslim faithful observing Maulid were mistakenly killed and many others injured following a military drone attack targeting terrorists and bandits,” Kaduna State governor Uba Sani said, calling for an investigation.
Villagers in Tudun Biri in the state of Kaduna had gathered for the Mawlid celebration when at about 9pm they heard the sound of an airplane, then an immense explosion.
“We couldn’t even run,” said Danjuma Salisu, a survivor, from his hospital bed, where he was being treated for injuries.
Many villagers are fleeing the area, in fear of further drone attacks, local media has reported. Activists have said that many previous attacks have not been duly investigated, leaving victims without suitable compensation or justice.
“The Nigerian army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently [its actions] affected members of the community,” reported Major-General Valentine Okoro in a statement issued by the Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security
The National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement on Tuesday that “85 dead bodies have so far been buried while search is still ongoing.”
The attack is the latest incident in the bombing raids that have ravaged the Central and North-West region of Nigeria since 2014, targeting bandits and rebels.
In September 2021, at least 20 fishermen were killed and several injured in an attack in the village of Kwatar Daban Masara. In January 2017, 112 people were killed when a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40,000 people in the town of Rann.
Nigeria’s military has conducted airstrikes against Boko Haram militants and insurgents in the northern part of the country. The conflict in the North-West has recently surpassed the North-East as the most violent among several ongoing conflicts in Africa’s most populous nation.
The Nigerian military forces have blamed a ‘lack of appropriate marking’ in the area for previous attacks.
“We are determined to prevent a repeat of this tragedy and reassure our people that their protection would be prioritized in the sustained fight against terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements,” said Sani, the state governor.
