A Nigerian fighter jet misfired Tuesday during an operation, striking
refugees at a camp for the internally displaced as well as aid workers
with the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to Nigerian
officials and the Red Cross.
The
Nigerian government provided no official death toll, but an aid
organization said more than 50 people were killed at the camp in the
northeastern state of Borno.
The operation was targeting the terrorist group Boko Haram, according to the army.
Maj.
Gen. Lucky Irabor, a Nigerian army commander, said during a news
conference in Maiduguri that two soldiers were "affected" during the
operation. He did not elaborate.
"There are casualties and wounded but
the actual numbers," he said, "I am yet to get the numbers of casualties
of civilians were killed."
Doctors
Without Borders condemned what it called a "large-scale attack on
vulnerable people." It said 52 people were killed and 120 more were
wounded.
The humanitarian group, which has teams in the area, called the incident "shocking and unacceptable."
"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," said Jean-Clément
Cabrol, Doctors Without Borders' director of operations.
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