At least 200 people are feared dead after Nigerian military jets struck a village market while pursuing Islamist militants in the northeast of the country on Saturday night, a councilor for the area and residents said on Sunday.
Nigeria’s Air Force said it had killed Boko Haram militants in the Jilli axis in Borno state, but in a statement released to Reuters on Sunday, it did not mention hitting a market. It did not respond to further requests for comment.
The government of the neighboring Yobe state later said in a statement that an air strike on the area had been conducted near a market that people were attending.
“Some people from Geidam LGA (local government area) bordering Gubio LGA in Borno state who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected,” said Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, military adviser to the Yobe state government.
He gave no further details.
