The Nigerian military says there is no “credible” or “substantiated” evidence of civilian casualties following an air strike on Tumfa market in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara state.
According to AFP, at least 72 people were killed in the wake of Sunday’s missile launch.
The newswire, citing a community leader, said some victims’ bodies were “blown beyond recognition”.
“The actual death toll is hard to establish at the moment. Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market. People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do,” Garba Ibrahim Mashema told AFP.
Amnesty International had said the death toll had risen to more than 100, adding that dozens of injured victims were receiving treatment after the strike.
The organisation also claimed that one of the affected villages buried 80 people at once.
However, Michael Onoja, spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, dismissed claims that civilians were affected by the operation.
He said the strike was carried out in line with international humanitarian law and targeted a “confirmed high-level gathering” of militant leaders in the village, based on multi-sourced intelligence.
“No credible, substantiated evidence of civilian casualties has been established through any official assessment or independent verification,” Onoja said.
He added that the nature of the operation made immediate casualty verification difficult, but noted that a post-strike assessment indicated that “several terrorists were neutralised”.
