An airstrike launched by the Nigerian Army with the aim to dislodge armed bandits on the border of Niger Republic has mistakenly killed seven children in the country.
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The incident occured in the village of Nachade on Friday, February 18, 2022.
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This was confirmed by Chaibou Aboubacar, the governor of the Maradi region, where the incident took place.
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Aboubacar told AFP on Sunday that 12 children in total were affected by the strike, of which seven have died and five currently receiving treatment for injuries sustained.
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“There was a mistake with the Nigerian strikes on the border that resulted in victims on our territory in the village of Nachade.”
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“The victims are 12 children, seven of them dead and five wounded.”
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Four children died instantly and three others succumbed “to their injuries while being transported to the hospital,” said Abubakar.
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The governor said the parents of the victims were attending a ceremony at the time of the incident while the children were probably playing before they were hit by the strikes.
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“The parents were attending a ceremony and the children were probably playing when the strikes…” said Aboubacar.
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He is of the believe that the planes were targeting “armed bandits” in the border areas, but “missed their target” hitting Nachade instead.
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The governor revealed that he visited the graves of the children on Saturday and also stopped at the bombardment scene.
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Meanwhile, at the time of this report, the Nigerian Army is yet to either confirm or debunk the incident.
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The violence perpetuated by heavily armed gangs in the southwestern states of Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara has spilled into several municipalities in the Maradi region of Niger Republic.
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