The United Nations rights chief on Wednesday demanded independent investigations into reports that separate airstrikes by the Nigerian and Chadian armies in northern Nigeria killed dozens of civilians.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the incidents as “shocking” and called for urgent accountability, delivering his statement from Geneva on Wednesday, May 13.
Amnesty International’s Nigeria chapter said that Nigerian military airstrikes struck a crowded market in the northwestern Zamfara state, reportedly controlled by criminal gangs, killing at least 100 civilians, with a resident of a nearby village putting the death toll even higher at 117.
Türk also said he was “alarmed and saddened” by reports of high civilian casualties caused by Chadian fighter jets, which conducted strikes against Boko Haram camps on remote islands in the vast marshland shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.
The bombardment reportedly killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen working on islands under Boko Haram control, where civilians are forced to pay taxes to the jihadist group. Footage seen by AFP showed several fishermen with severe burns being treated at a hospital in Bosso, Niger.
Türk stressed that it is crucial for both Nigerian and Chadian authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigations into the incidents, and to ensure that those responsible for any violations are held to account in accordance with international standards.
Despite repeated assurances by Nigerian military authorities that precautions are taken during aerial operations, human rights organisations have continued to raise concerns over increasing reports of mistaken bombings and civilian casualties, with several airstrikes in states including Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, and Borno having previously resulted in civilian deaths.
