Ekeomah Atuonwu
Seven children have been murdered in Niger during a Nigerian army air raid targeting “bandits”, a local governor and state media have said.
The governor of Niger’s Maradi area told journalists that five more people were injured in the supposedly accidental strike.
Four people were killed instantly, according to Governor Chaibou Aboubacar, while three others died on their way to the hospital. Nachade village was the scene of the attack, the state television said.
Nigerian officials noted that an investigation is underway.
The victims’ parents were at a ceremony, and “the youngsters were probably playing” when the air strikes occurred, Mr Aboubacar revealed.
The Governor believes the planes were targeting “armed bandits” in areas around the border between the two countries but missed their target and hit Nachade, a village in the area of Madarounfa.
Niger and Nigeria have been conducting joint military operations against armed gangs responsible for a wave of kidnappings and killings in the region.
Since 2018, Niger has reinforced military patrols along its border with Nigeria to prevent incursions of the gangs.
The children’s deaths come just three months after 26 children aged five and six died in a fire at a school in Maradi city.
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