At least 100 civilians have been killed in a Nigerian military airstrike on a crowded market in the north-west of the country, according to Amnesty International.
The rights group’s Nigerian office said the attack happened on Sunday at Tumfa market in Zamfara state and was calling for an immediate investigation.
“The authorities must investigate these deadly attacks and stop reckless attacks on civilians,” Amnesty said on social media.
Red Cross has also confirmed this attack.
Major General Michael Onoja, a spokesman for Nigeria’s military, told the AFP news agency that reports of civilian deaths in Zamfara were “not true.”
In a separate statement to The Associated Press, the military said, “No verifiable evidence of civilian casualties has been established, as is being reported in the media.”
Rights group cites repeated civilian deaths in Nigerian air campaigns
Dozens of injured people are being treated in nearby hospitals, and many of the dead are said to be women and girls, according to community leaders in the area.
“Everyone, residents and bandits, go to the market,” said Garba Ibrahim Mashema. “The people are at the mercy of the bandits. They can’t do anything.”
Ibrahim Bello Garba, a Red Cross official in the state, told The Associated Press that “several civilians” were killed.
Sunday’s attack follows another deadly airstrike in Jilli, in northeastern Nigeria, last month, which killed about 200 civilians.
“In parts of the North experiencing conflict, civilians often bear the brunt of the suffering,” Amnesty said. “These horrific deaths should not be ignored.”
The attack comes as Nigeria is dealing with banditry and jihadist insurgency in parts of the country, where profit-motivated gangs attack villages, kidnap people and extort money from rural areas.
The groups are loosely organized and have both fought and collaborated with jihadist groups.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez