Nigerian and Chadian Air Strikes Kill Over 100 Civilians, UN Rights Chief Calls for Independent Probes

The United Nations human rights chief has demanded independent investigations into reports that separate air attacks by Nigerian and Chadian forces in northern Nigeria killed more than 100 civilians. Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he was 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.

Many of those killed in the Tumfa village market attack were women and children, according to Amnesty International.

The Nigerian military and bandit gangs killed at least 100 civilians on Sunday in one of the bloodiest days in the state's conflict against armed groups. Turk was also alarmed and saddened by reports of high civilian casualties from attacks since Friday by Chadian jets against Boko Haram camps on remote islands in the vast marshland shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Air raids by Chadian forces killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen working on islands under Boko Haram control.

Footage verified by the AFP news agency showed several fishermen with severe burns being treated at a hospital in Bosso, Niger. "It is crucial that both Nigerian and Chadian authorities conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into these disturbing incidents," Turk said.

He added that both militaries must take all feasible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. "Their military operations, including against Boko Haram and the so-called 'Islamic State West Africa Province' must be conducted in full compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law," he said, referring to the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province known as ISWAP.

"Civilians and civilian objects must never be the target of attack," Turk said.

Nigerian military has been battling bandits in the northwest, often describing them as terrorists. It has also been battling an armed rebellion in the northeast for 17 years. The Nigerian military said on Wednesday that there has been no evidence of civilian casualties in attacks in the northwest Zamfara state this month.

Major-General Michael Onoja called reports of large death tolls unverified and misleading. "No credible, substantiated evidence of civilian casualties has been established through any official assessment or independent verification," he said. Onoja stated that the strike was conducted under international humanitarian law and targeted a confirmed high-level gathering based on intelligence sources.

Several terrorists were neutralised in the village, he said. Al Jazeera reported the details of the air raids, the UN response and the Nigerian military's denial.