Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of violence that some readers may find distressing.
At least 200 people are feared dead after Nigerian military jets struck a village market in the northeast of the country while pursuing Islamist militants on Saturday night. Now, a survivor has described the horror of watching dozens die around him.
“I went to the market and bought two sheep and a horse. While I was there, a jet suddenly came and hit us,” the survivor said from his hospital bed, where he is being treated for a leg injury.
He estimated that about 30 people were killed instantly in his immediate vicinity. Across the entire market, the death toll has reached at least 200, according to a local councillor, three residents, and an official from an international humanitarian agency.
“I was lying there for some time,” the survivor added.
Reuters obtained graphic video of victims being treated at a hospital following the strike on Saturday night in Jilli village, which lies in Yobe state on the border with Borno — the heartland of a long-running Boko Haram insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions over the past 15 years.
Military Says It Was Pursuing Militants
The Nigerian Air Force initially said it had killed Boko Haram militants in the Jilli area of Borno state. After reports of civilian casualties emerged, the Air Force announced it had begun a fact-finding mission.
The government of neighbouring Yobe state later confirmed that an airstrike was carried out near a market. Officials said the strike occurred in a village on the border with Borno.
The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency said it had activated its emergency response.
A Survivor’s Account
The survivor, whose name has not been released, had gone to the market to buy livestock — a routine trip that turned into a nightmare.
He described the moment the jet appeared, the explosion, and then the silence broken by screams. He said he lay injured on the ground for some time before anyone came to help.
His account adds a human dimension to a tragedy that has already drawn international condemnation.
Why This Matters
The incident has renewed attention on the toll of Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operations on civilian populations. Human rights groups have long documented cases of military strikes killing dozens of civilians, with airstrikes repeatedly hitting markets, displacement camps and villages where militants were believed to be hiding.
Saturday night’s strike is one of the deadliest in recent years.
The United Kingdom has been a major donor to Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts, providing military training and humanitarian aid. Each civilian casualty raises difficult questions about the use of British-supported military assets.
For the Nigerian government, the incident is a political liability. President Bola Tinubu’s administration has promised to tackle the insurgency while protecting civilians. After Saturday night, that promise looks harder to keep.
Source: Reuters
