Nigeria airstrike on village in northeast leaves at least 20 fishermen dead

At least 20 fishermen have been killed in an air strike by the Nigerian military in a village in the country’s conflict-ridden northeast, a report says.

The fishermen were accidentally killed after an air force fighter jet targeted a militant camp in the village of Kwatar Daban Masara in the Nigerian side of Lake Chad, AFP reported on Tuesday citing two security sources.

The incident which occurred on Sunday came after a ban on fishermen was lifted in the area, which is a stronghold for Daesh- West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The ISWAP split from Boko Haram five years ago amid a conflict. It separately pledged allegiance to Daesh.

“Any fisherman that goes to that area does so at his own risk because it is an enemy territory and there is no way of differentiating them from the terrorists,” one of the sources said, adding that the death toll is much higher than 20.

The intelligence source also noted that the strike was based on “credible information” of a gathering of ISWAP militants in the village to carry out an attack.

Another security source said the village was under surveillance in the past 10 days after scores of men suspected to be foreign militants amassed in the village.

“It was a preemptive strike to destroy whatever plans the terrorists were making,” the source said.

A local fisherman said the fighter jet struck the village “killing many of our people who are there for fishing”.

“The initial death toll was around 20, but the figure has been increasing with the deaths of many of the injured,” Sallau Arzika said.

Meanwhile, a local resident told Reuters on Tuesday that at least 50 people were killed instantly after two planes bombed a fish market in the village.