At least 20 fishermen were killed when the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) carried out a strike on a jihadist camp in northeast Nigeria.
The Guardian reports that a force fighter jet early on Sunday, September 26th, 2021 bombarded Kwatar Daban Masara in Lake Chad, which straddles Nigeria and neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.
The area is a base for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Speaking on the incident, a fisherman in the area, Sallau Arzika, said the fighter jet struck the village “killing many of our people who are there for fishing”.
He added, “The initial death toll was around 20, but the figure has been increasing with the deaths of many of the injured”
An intelligent source while confirming the death of the fishermen in the attack blamed it on the inability of the Air Force to differentiate them from the insurgents.
In his words, “Any fisherman that goes to that area does so at his own risk because it is an enemy territory and there is no way of differentiating them from the terrorists,”
“From the information we have been receiving the death toll is much higher than 20.”
The Nigerian air force spokesman is yet to comment on the incident.
However, a source working with the anti-jihadist militia in the region said the strike was based on “credible information” of a gathering of ISWAP fighters in the village since Wednesday.
He added that aerial surveillance and reports from other sources revealed the terrorists were amassing in Kwatar Daban Masara and it was obvious they were planning an attack.
Another security source added, “It was a preemptive strike to destroy whatever plans the terrorists were making,
“You don’t expect an innocent civilian to be at that location and whoever is found is certainly part of the terrorists,” he said.
It can be recalled that a NAF fighter jet also bombarded a Yobe community, an incident that claimed the lives of many civilians while several others were wounded.