Nigerian fighter jet misfire kills civilians

By Rafiu Ajakaye

Lagos, NIGERIA (AA) - Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on Tuesday mistakenly opened fire on a displaced persons’ camp in northeastern Borno state, killing a number of civilians and injuring several others including soldiers, officials have said.

Lucky Irabor, an army major general coordinating the fight against Boko Haram in the region, said the fighter jet had targeted a gathering of militants around Kala Balge town but erroneously fired at civilians in an area called Rann.

“So far, it is a little bit disturbing; death has occurred. There were ...deaths and injuries but on the actual number of casualties, we would get back to you later,” Irabor told a news briefing in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno state.

"We report with sadness that among the casualties of today's airstrikes in Rann six Nigeria Red Cross officials were killed and 13 wounded," the Red Cross said in a statement.

President Muhammadu Buhari said he received the news of the misfiring with "deep sadness and regret", pledging federal help for the state government in attending to "this regrettable operational mistake". He also pleaded for calm, and prayed God to grant repose to the souls of the dead.

Nigerian air force have conducted hundreds of air raids targeted at Boko Haram, however, incidents of misfiring at civilian population are rare.