A Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists has mistakenly bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers, a state official said.

The Borno state government official is helping to co-ordinate the evacuation of the wounded.

Military commander Major General Lucky Irabor confirmed the accidental bombardment in north-east Rann, near the border with Cameroon.

The general said Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross are among the wounded.

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake. </s> A Nigerian state official says an Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists has mistakenly bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers. The Borno state government official is helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded.

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The official spoke today on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters. Military commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor confirms the accidental bombardment in northeast Rann, near the border with Cameroon. The general says among the wounded are Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria’s military has admitted to making such a mistake. </s> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian state official says an Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists has mistakenly bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers.

The Borno state government official is helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded. The official spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

Military commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor confirms the accidental bombardment in northeast Rann, near the border with Cameroon. The general says among the wounded are Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> (MAIDUGURI, Nigeria) — A Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists mistakenly bombed a refugee camp Tuesday, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers, a Borno state official said. A Red Cross worker said 20 volunteers with the aid group had been killed.

The state government official, who was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded from the remote area by helicopters, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Military commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor confirmed the accidental bombardment in northeast Rann, near the border with Cameroon.



This is believed to be the first time Nigeria’s military has admitted to making such a mistake.

Among the wounded were two soldiers and Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Irabor said.

An ICRC employee told the AP that 20 Red Cross volunteers were among the dead. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to give information to reporters.

Doctors Without Borders said its team based in Rann had counted 50 bodies and treated 120 wounded. A statement from spokesman Etienne l’Hermitte urged authorities to facilitate land and air evacuations, saying, “Our medical and surgical teams in Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event.”

Irabor said he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic coordinates. It was too early to say if a tactical error was made, he said.

The general, who is the theater commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, said the Air Force would not deliberately target civilians but there will be an investigation.

Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by Air Force bombardments, according to the freed girls’ parents. </s> This is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake. Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: A Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists mistakenly bombed a refugee camp Tuesday, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers, a Borno state official said.

The state government official was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Military commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor confirmed the accidental bombardment in northeast Rann, near the border with Cameroon. Among the wounded were two soldiers and Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, he said.

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake. Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

Irabor said he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic coordinates. It was too early to say if a tactical error was made, he said.

The general, who is the theater commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, said the Air Force would not deliberately target civilians but there will be an investigation.

Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by Air Force bombardments, according to the freed girls' parents. </s> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian air force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists mistakenly bombed a refugee camp on Tuesday, killing more than 100 refugees and aid workers, a Borno state official confirms.

Military commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor says an accidental bombardment in the northeastern town of Rann, near the border with Cameroon, saying “some” civilians were killed.

It is believed to be the first time Nigeria’s military openly admits to making such a mistake in a region where villagers have in the past reported civilian casualties in the near-daily bombings targeting the Islamic militants.

The Borno state official, who was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded from the remote area by helicopters, says more than 100 refugees and aid workers were among the dead. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Doctors Without Borders says its team based in Rann counted 52 bodies and were treating 120 wounded.

“This large-scale attack on vulnerable people who have already fled from extreme violence is shocking and unacceptable,” says Dr. Jean-Clément Cabrol, the aid group’s director of operations. “The safety of civilians must be respected.”

The International Committee for the Red Cross says six workers with the Nigerian Red Cross were among the dead and 13 were wounded. “They were part of a team that had brought in desperately needed food for over 25,000 displaced persons,” spokesman Jason Straziuso says in a statement from Nairobi, Kenya.

Two soldiers were also wounded, as well as Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders, Irabor says, without giving a precise figure.

The general, who is the theater commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, says he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering in the area, along with geographic coordinates.

It was too early to say if a tactical error was made, he says, adding that the bombing would be investigated.

Doctors Without Borders spokesman Etienne l’Hermitte in Geneva urges authorities to facilitate cross-border land and air evacuations.

“Our medical and surgical teams in Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event,” the statement says.

Villagers have in the past reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

Some of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by air force bombardments, according to the freed girls’ parents. Of the nearly 300 schoolgirls who were abducted, 196 remain missing.

The bombings have helped drive Boko Haram out of many towns and villages and, according to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, the insurgents’ last stronghold in the Sambisa Forest last month.

Boko Haram’s 7-year-old Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people and forced 2.6 million from their homes, creating the continent’s worst humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations warning some 5.1 million people face starvation. </s> More than 100 people were killed and around 200 wounded after a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet mistakenly bombed a refugee camp during an operation against extremist group Boko Haram on Tuesday, AP reported. Military commander Major General Lucky Irabor acknowledged the incident that occurred in the town of Rann while President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his sadness over “this regrettable operational mistake” and said that assistance would be offered to the state.

The government, however, has not released an official toll of the victims yet. Nigerian military spokesperson General Rabe Abubakar said the incident was never intended. “However, in a military operation such as this, from time to time these things do occur,” BBC quoted him as saying.

Doctors without borders said at least 52 people were killed in the attack in Rann, which is along the border with Cameroon. The International Red Cross in Africa said that six of its workers were killed in the incident. “The safety of civilians must be respected. We are urgently calling on all parties to ensure the facilitation of medical evacuations by air or road for survivors who are in need of emergency care,” Doctors without Borders director of operations Dr Jean-Clément Cabrol said.

In the past, villagers had accused the country’s armed forces of killing civilians during military operations.

Founded in 2002, Boko Haram has launched several operations killing scores of people as part of its mission to make Nigeria an Islamic state. More than 20,000 people have been killed during the group’s attacks, while around 26 lakh people have been displaced. The United Nations has described the situation as the worst crisis in the continent and warned that 51 lakh people risk starvation, AP reported. </s> In this Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, file photo, Cameroon soldiers stand guard at a lookout post as they take part in operations against the Islamic extremists group Boko Haram, their guard post is on Elbeid bridge, left rear, that separates northern Cameroon form Nigeria's Borno state near the village of Fotokol, Cameroon. Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists mistakenly bombed a refugee camp Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2017, killing more than 100 refugees and wounding aid workers, a Borno state government official said. (AP Photo/Edwin Kindzeka Moki) </s> About 30,000 persons have fled Rann in Borno State to the border in Cameroon over the weekend following Boko Haram‘s threat to attack the town.

The United Nations (UN) revealed this in a statement on Tuesday where it noted that the development was mainly as a preventive measure.

“All the population seems to be panicking and they are on the run as a preemptive measure to save their lives,” UN refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.

In a related development, the insurgents are now using skilled fighters and technology from ISIS as new strategies to further their agenda, according to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

Abubakar said this on Monday when he rolled out the achievements of the service in the last year.

According to him, “Our gallant fighter and helicopter gunship pilots are adapting creditably to these emerging nuances and making good progress, despite recent setbacks.”
A Nigerian Air Force jet mistakenly bombs a refugee camp in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, killing at least 90 people and injuring more than 100. The pilot reportedly believed he was attacking Boko Haram militants.