A northern advocacy group for good governance, the Northern Star Youth Empowerment Initiative (NSYEI), has condemned the killing of innocent civilians in an airstrike conducted by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
The attack resulted in the deaths of members of the Zamfara Community Protection Guard (ZCPG), local vigilantes, and residents in the village of Tungar Kara, located in the Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The tragic incident on Saturday, following a raid on bandits, resulted in the accidental deaths of at least 20 individuals, with many others sustaining serious injuries and lacking immediate medical assistance.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday evening, Director General of the movement, Dr Abdullahi Idris described the incident as one too many that has made the Nigerian Air Force carve an image for itself as more specialized in killing innocent civilians than the marauding bandits.
He recalled a similar incident that happened in Silame local government area of Sokoto State only last month in which scores of civilians were killed by the Air Force in similar circumstances.
“This is in addition to the killing of civilians in Kaduna State last year and several such incidents in the fight against terrorism in the northeast,” the DG said.
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Dr Abdullahi noted that, in the aftermath of the incident in Sokoto State recently, his organization called for an independent probe to establish the root cause with a view to punishing culprits, compensating victims, and taking majors to forestall future occurrence.
“Unfortunately our calls for independence was ignored by the military authorities and now the unfortunate incident has repeated itself”, he observed.
The DG warned that until military authorities allow for transparency and accountability in the way it conduct its counter-insurgency operations, innocent lives will continue to be needlessly lost.
“We therefore, once again condemn the unprofessional conduct of the Airforce that led to the most recent senseless killing of civilians in Zamfara State.
“This must not be swept under the carpet like similar incidents in the past.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we unequivocally call for an independent probe, establish the culprits with a view to holding them accountable, compensating the victims and totally overhaul the conduct of counter-insurgency operations especially as it relates to the Nigeria Air Force”, he stated.
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