Scores of people have been feared killed in Kukawa village of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State during airstrikes by the troops of the Nigerian Army under Operation Hadarin Daji. The army, however, denied the killing of any civilian in the state, stating that they were fighting bandits and not innocent people.
An indigene of the village, Musa Abubakar, who narrowly escaped the airstrikes, reported that his community was performing the Eid El Fitr prayer last Wednesday when the Nigerian Air Force bombarded the area. Abubakar mentioned that the bombardment led to the death of no fewer than 40 people, including his blood relations and others who sustained various degrees of injuries.
Another person from the village explained that the bombardment was a result of gunshots from suspected bandits targeting the military aircraft. This caused the military to drop bombs in the village during the Eid El Fitr prayer, resulting in many casualties.
Lieutenant Suleiman Omale, the spokesperson for Operation Hadarin Daji, reiterated that the military was focused on fighting bandits and not innocent Nigerians. He stated that he was not aware of any civilians being killed during the operation.
It is important to note that airstrikes by the air components of Operation Hadin Kai and Hadrin Daji have also been reported to have killed terrorists planning to attack soft targets in Katsina and Borno states. A terrorist enclave in Katsina was bombed as part of the military’s efforts to combat insurgency in the region.
