Around 100 Civilians Killed in Nigeria After Military Airstrikes and Bandit Attacks

The Nigerian military and criminal "bandit" gangs were blamed for roughly 100 civilian deaths in one of the deadliest single days of the country's long-running conflict with armed groups, sources told AFP.

The Zamfara Market Strike

Local leaders said a military airstrike struck a crowded market in Tumfa, Zamfara state, killing dozens. A community leader told AFP the military strike killed at least 72 people, many of them civilians, and described some victims as "blown beyond recognition." Amnesty International's Nigeria chapter put the toll at "at least 100" and a nearby resident gave a figure of 117.

"The actual death toll is hard to establish at the moment," Garba Ibrahim Mashema, a community leader, told AFP.

Separate Niger State Strike

On the same day families told AFP that a different air operation in central Niger state killed 13 civilians. The strike occurred in Shiroro local government area, a region that hosts known hideouts for a Boko Haram faction and non-ideological bandits. Local officials expressed regret and said the deaths were not intentional, while residents say homes and villages were hit.

Bandit Attacks and Additional Violence

UN security reports seen by AFP said armed gangs killed 30 travellers in an unrelated attack in Zamfara state the same day, and carried out "coordinated attacks" in Katsina that left 12 people dead. These incidents underscore the broader insecurity on the ground beyond the air campaigns.

Official Response

The military denied that its strikes killed civilians in both Zamfara and Niger states. In statements it said it targeted "terrorist leaders and commanders from across the west African sub-region," and pledged investigations into reported incidents. Defence Headquarters spokesman Major General Michael Onoja dismissed the Zamfara civilian death reports as "not true."

Who Are the "Bandits"?

Locally known as "bandits," these decentralised armed gangs in northwest Nigeria are largely motivated by profit. They conduct village raids, kidnappings for ransom, and extortion of farmers and miners in areas with limited state presence. They have at times clashed or cooperated with Nigeria's more organised jihadist groups.

Context And Past Incidents

Human rights groups say the military's air campaign has killed hundreds of civilians in operations against both bandits and jihadists. In April, a military strike on a market in Jilli, on the Yobe–Borno border, killed at least 56 people; the military said it would investigate but public updates have not been released.

Reporting Note: Casualty figures differ across sources — community leaders, residents, Amnesty International, UN reports and the military — and the situation in remote rural areas can delay independent verification.