A military airstrike targeted at Boko Haram members in Abadam Faransa
village in Niger republic on Tuesday February 17th accidentally killed
37 villagers who were gathered for the funeral of a local chief. 20
others were injured from the airstrike.
Although no nation has claimed responsibility for the airstrikes, some
Niger Republic military officers believe the airstrike was launched from
a Nigerian jet, a charge the Nigerian Defence Headquarters
spokesperson, Gen Chris Olukolade has denied
"It’s not to my knowledge and there has not been any report from our
people of such an incident,” Gen Olukolade told BBC in an interview
Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have in recent weeks stepped up
coordinated offensive operation against Boko Haram. Chad and Nigeria
have used fighter jets as part of a regional alliance to defeat the
Islamist group that has recently escalated its deadly attacks on Nigeria
and its neighbors.