Air force bombs killed 52 and injured 120 civilians, says MSF

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international humanitarian non-governmental organisation best known for its life-saving projects in war-torn regions, says at least 120 people were wounded and 52 killed on Tuesday when a Nigerian air force jet accidentally bombed an internally displaced persons camp in Rann, Borno state.

Earlier, Lucky Irabor, theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, had said that after receiving a report about the gathering of Boko Haram terrorists around Kala Balge area of Maiduguri, he directed the air component of the operation to “address the problem”.

Unfortunately, the strike was conducted but it turned out that other civilians were somewhere around the area and they were affected,” Irabor said.

“So far, it is a little bit disturbing; death has occurred. There are casualties; there were deaths and injuries but on the actual number of casualties, we would get back to you later.

“I am yet to get the number of casualties of civilians killed, but two soldiers were also affected.”

Responding, MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, decried the “large-scale attack” and implored the military to immediately facilitate the evacuation and treatment of survivors.

“This large-scale attack on vulnerable people who have already fled from extreme violence is shocking and unacceptable,” Jean-Clément Cabrol, MSF director of operations, said.

“The safety of civilians must be respected. We are urgently calling on all parties to ensure the facilitation of medical evacuations by air or road for survivors who are in need of emergency care.”

MSF said its medical teams were “currently providing first aid to 120 wounded patients in its facility in Rann” while its medical and surgical teams in the region were “preparing to treat evacuated patients”.

MSF first started working in Nigeria in 1971, and is one of the few organisations still able to operate in hard-to-reach areas of the country.

TheCable’s visit to the north-east in November established that MSF is the humanitarian organisation whose work is most critical to the survival of malnourished children in Borno and other victims of insurgency.