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About 20 people feared dead at Adamawa air raid

Published

11 years ago

March 2, 2014

Air strikes by men of the Nigerian Air
Force (NAF) against suspected bases of
insurgents at Daglun, a border village of
Askira Uba in Adamawa State, has
claimed 20 civilians.
NAF had yesterday intensified its
offensive in the area to dislodge
members of the Boko Haram sect, who
have killed dozens of people in Adamawa
villages in the last one week.
Residents and hospital sources told
LEADERSHIP Sunday that, besides the
victims, 25 others were wounded during
the raid.
The incident came less than 24 hours
after Governor Murtala Nyako was forced
to cancel his tour of villages attacked by
insurgents last week.
A resident of the village claimed that at
least 20 villagers were killed and 25
others, mostly the aged, wounded when
NAF personnel struck.
At the Mubi General Hospital, a senior
medical worker told our reporter that the
injured were brought to the hospital for
treatment.
‘’I cannot officially give you details of the
casualty or those that were injured
because I am not permitted to talk to the
press; I can only tell you that many lives
were lost and some were rushed to
hospital for treatment,’’ he said.
Prior to the air strikes, most residents
had fled the area in anticipation of a full-
scale military offensive on the border
towns and villages.
A community leader in the area who
didn’t want to be named confirmed the
incident. He said that the air strikes
occurred while the villagers were going
about their normal businesses. “We
counted 20 dead bodies while those
injured were rushed to hospital. The
people that remained in the village are
mostly women and aged people because
the younger ones have since fled for fear
of being attacked by Boko Haram
insurgents. Many of the wounded have
been rushed to Mubi General Hospital,’’
he stated.
A survivor of the attack who simply
identified himself as Baba said there
were no Boko Haram members in the
area, describing the NAF attack as
unwarranted.
When contacted, the spokesman of the
23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, Captain
Jafaru Nuhu, said he was not aware of
the incident, but a security official who
did not want his name in print said some
“terrorists” were killed in previous air
strikes, adding that the latest air strikes
took place in the remote Sambisa forest
where insurgents camped.