Over 100 Civilians Killed in Nigerian Military Strike on Boko Haram
The deadly strike hit Jilli village in Yobe state — a region long plagued by an entrenched insurgency — killing over 100 people and leaving 35 others with severe injuries, according to Amnesty, which published its findings in a statement on X, the US-based social media platform.
Eyewitnesses reported that three military jets opened fire on the market, the organization said.
Amnesty issued a scathing condemnation of the operation: "Launching air raids is not a legitimate law enforcement method by anyone's standard. Such reckless use of deadly force is unlawful, outrageous and lays bare the Nigerian military's shocking disregard for the lives of those it supposedly exists to protect," demanding an urgent and impartial investigation.
Borno state Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, whose state borders Yobe, pushed back on the criticism, revealing that the market had been officially shuttered by authorities roughly five years ago after it was identified as a logistics hub exploited by terrorists and their collaborators. Zulum, who openly backed the military operation, confirmed that both Jilli and nearby markets had been closed as part of broader counterinsurgency measures.
Nigerian Air Force spokesman Sanni Uba defended the strike in a Sunday statement, asserting that the operation was the product of sustained intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions that had tracked terrorist movements — including motorcycles and armed gun trucks — converging on the targeted area. He further described the location as a known stronghold for insurgents.
Facing mounting public pressure, the Nigerian Air Force announced it had opened a formal inquiry into the civilian casualty allegations — an incident that throws into sharp relief the persistent and deadly challenges confronting Nigeria's military as it wages its counterinsurgency campaign in a region where civilian communities frequently border suspected militant territory.
Nigeria has been locked in a battle against northeastern terrorism for over a decade, a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted millions of people across the broader Lake Chad region.
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