The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed reports alleging that civilians were killed during a recent military air strike on Tumfa market in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The military maintained that there is no credible evidence to support claims of civilian casualties arising from the operation carried out on Sunday.
Reports by international news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), had claimed that at least 72 persons died following the missile strike, with local sources alleging that several bodies were badly mutilated.
A community leader, Garba Ibrahim Mashema, told AFP that the actual number of casualties could be higher because both residents and armed bandits frequently patronise the market.
“The actual death toll is hard to establish at the moment. Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market. People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do,” he reportedly said.
Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, also alleged that the death toll from the strike had exceeded 100, adding that many injured victims were receiving treatment in hospitals.
The organisation further claimed that one of the affected communities conducted a mass burial for about 80 victims.
Reacting to the reports, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, speaking through the Defence Headquarters spokesman, Brigadier General Michael Onoja, maintained that the operation strictly targeted terrorists.
According to Onoja, the strike was conducted based on credible intelligence which identified a high-level gathering of terrorist leaders in the area.
“The strike was carried out in line with international humanitarian law and targeted a confirmed high-level gathering of militant leaders in the village, based on multi-sourced intelligence,” he said.
The DHQ spokesman rejected allegations that civilians were affected, stressing that available assessments had not established such claims.
“No credible, substantiated evidence of civilian casualties has been established through any official assessment or independent verification,” Onoja stated.
He noted that the nature of the operation and the security situation in the area made immediate verification difficult, but added that preliminary post-strike findings showed that several terrorists were eliminated during the operation.
Onoja said: “The nature of the operation makes immediate casualty verification difficult; however, post-strike assessments indicate that several terrorists were neutralised.”
