AFP, GENEVA: A botched air strike by the Nigerian Air Force earlier this week on a camp for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 90 people, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group said Friday.Most of the victims of the strike in Rann in the country’s northeast on Tuesday were women and children, MSF said. Nigeria has said an air force board of inquiry will investigate the incident.
Military commanders have already called the bombing a mistake, blaming it on “the fog of war”, saying the intended target was jihadists reportedly spotted in the Kala-Balge area, of which Rann is part.
“Around 90 people were killed when a Nigerian air force plane circled twice and dropped two bombs in the middle of the town of Rann,” MSF said in a statement.
The death toll could still rise further—MSF said there were “consistent reports from residents and community leaders” saying that as many as 170 people were killed.