Nigerian Jet Mistakenly Bombs Refugee Camp, Killing Scores

DAKAR, Senegal — A Nigerian fighter jet searching for Boko Haram fighters on Tuesday bombed a camp for displaced people who had fled the militants, killing scores of camp residents and wounding many others, including humanitarian workers.

The bombing occurred at a government-run camp in Rann, Nigeria, near the borders with Cameroon and Chad. The camp is in an area where Boko Haram has recently increased attacks

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria said on Twitter that the camp was bombed by mistake. “I received with regret news that the Air Force, working to mop up BH insurgents, accidentally bombed a civilian community in Rann, Borno State,” he wrote.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said its teams at the scene of the bombing counted 50 people dead and 120 injured as they provided first aid and tried to stabilize patients in hopes of evacuating the wounded. The Associated Press reported, citing a Borno State official, that the overall death toll may reach 100 or more.

A helicopter sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived on the scene late on Tuesday. Medical teams in Cameroon and Chad were also preparing to treat the wounded.

“We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event,” said Tim Shenk, a spokesman for Doctors Without Borders.

Continue reading

Courtesy: The New York Times

Leave a Comment

© 2012 - All Rights are reserved by zameer36.

Scroll to top