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The United Nations (UN) has urged Nigeria and Chad to probe the deadly military airstrikes that killed civilians in the northern region of Nigeria.
The UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement issued on Wednesday, appealed for an investigation into the deadly airstrikes during a news conference in New York.
“We join the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, in expressing alarm and shock over reported civilian deaths in northern Nigeria,” he said.
His demand was made four days after Nigerian airstrikes on a market in Zamfara on May 10, which allegedly killed at least 100 civilians.
Chadian military strikes reportedly killed dozens of fishermen in northwestern Nigeria, raising further humanitarian concerns.
The UN Deputy Spokesperson urged the governments of Nigeria and Chad to conduct prompt, independent, and impartial investigations into the incidents.
“Those responsible for any violations must be held to account. Both militaries must take all feasible precautions to protect civilians,” he said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, in a statement on Wednesday, had also called for an investigation into the airstrikes.
“I am shocked by reports that Nigerian army airstrikes on a market in Zamfara state killed at least 100 civilians on 10 May and injured many more,” Turk said in a statement on Wednesday.
Turk also said he was “alarmed and saddened” by the reports of high civilian casualties in attacks since Friday by Chadian jets against Boko Haram camps on remote islands in the vast marshland shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, however, rejected reports of civilian casualties following a recent joint operation in Zamfara.
Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, the Director, Defence Media Operations at the Defence Headquarters, said troops targeted terrorist leaders at Tumfa village in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara.
“The casualty figures circulating remain speculative, unverified and inconsistent with official military assessments,” he said.
Onoja said the Armed Forces remained committed to accountability, professionalism and civilian protection during operations.
