Civilians killed in airstrike on village in Niger

Written by: Ayman Ragab

An unspecified number of civilians were killed in another airstrike on Ghoradnay, a settlement near Koussaso, one of the villages terrorized in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

Multiple sources reported that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Also, the photos of the accident taken by some people are extremely gruesome and cannot be published.

A group of terrorists on motorcycles passed through the village.

“It happened around 5 a.m.,” said Ota Odudu, a resident of Kusasau, adding that at least 12 people died at the home of a relative in Juradnai.

He stated: “Twelve people were killed in their home… The rest were from the Kosasau people who were fleeing from the terrorists.”.

Local residents said a group of terrorists on motorcycles drove through the village while air force troops pursued them.

One resident stated: “The army first dropped a bomb near the river in Kusasu… then dropped the second bomb in Goradnai.”.

The Nigerian Air Force has not issued an official statement regarding the incident.

The repeated loss of innocent lives in the region

A local politician, who asked not to be named, expressed his regret over the repeated loss of innocent lives in the region, saying: “What is most painful is that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred.”.

Many local residents were killed in accidental airstrikes targeting different areas in Shiroro.

In 2022, a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet killed six minors in the village of Korebe, according to an investigation by Premium Times. .

Five months later, another military airstrike killed eight civilians in the same village.

No solution has been reached in this case.

The Air Force denied that the minors were killed, thus supporting the state government's account.

“Terrorists are currently active in Minya”

Odudu said that terrorists may have been killed in the airstrikes, but innocent civilians were also killed.

terrorist activity

A security source monitoring the violence across Niger State revealed: “Although terrorists were killed in the attack, the operation did not deter them from their intentions.”.

The source, a member of a local watchdog committee, confirmed the local residents' account, saying that the terrorists passed through Kusasu in Cheruro and crossed over to the neighboring local council of Munya.

He said: “As I speak to you now, terrorists are active in Kabula near Kochi. There have been no confirmed reports of kidnappings or killings so far, but they have stolen many cattle from several communities in Munya.”.