Nigerian military, Niger Republic disagree over airstrike that killed seven children

The governor of Maradi Region in Niger Republic, Chaibou Aboubacar, has confirmed the death of seven children who were mistakenly killed by a Nigerian military airstrike on Friday, in the village of Nachade, which is a few kilometres from the country’s border with Nigeria.

But the Nigerian military rejected the claim, even as it promised to carry out an investigation.

Aboubacar, in a statement on Sunday, said five children were also injured in the air attack.

“There was a mistake with the Nigerian strikes on the border that resulted in the death of the children in the village of Nachade,” the governor said.

“The victims were 12 children, seven of them dead and five wounded.

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“The parents of the children were attending a ceremony and the children were probably playing when the strike hit them.

“Four children died instantly and three others succumbed to their injuries while being transported to hospital.

“From what we learnt, the Nigerian military were pursuing targets who had fled a border town and mistakenly fired at the gathering thinking they were part of their targets.”

However, the Nigerian Air Force has debunked the report, saying it does not make incursions into other countries.

“As a matter of policy, the Nigerian Air Force does not make any incursions into areas outside Nigeria’s territorial boundaries. That’s our policy,” Major General Jimmy Akpor, Nigeria’s director of defence information, said, while promising that investigation was under way to unravel the truth behind the incident.

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