NAF fighter jet killed 6 children, Niger govt confirms

The Secretary to the Niger State Government, Ibrahim Matane, has confirmed the killing of six children by a NAF fighter jet in the state, TopNaija reports.

Matane said the incident which occurred last week is being investigated, adding that the children were killed during a raid on the terrorists.

The incident occurred in the Kurebe community, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

When asked if six children were killed by a NAF fighter jet, Matane replied, “Yes, it occurred, the government is looking into the incident and an investigation is ongoing to ascertain what happened.”

According to the chairperson Coalition of Shiroro Associations, Salis Sambo, who spoke to our correspondent, the children got killed when the fighter jets tried to bomb some terrorists who ran into the community for safety.

He said the affected children were returning from the stream where they had gone to fetch water, adding that four of the children were members of the same family.

“It was the terrorists that they were targeting. That week, there were about four airstrikes carried out in Shiroro and scores of terrorists were killed. The terrorists ran into the community to take refuge and when the explosives were shelled, it affected the children. It wasn’t deliberate,” he added.

Sambo said that a man lost two of his daughters and two granddaughters in the incident.

The Nigerian Airforce is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese Chengdu F-7s, 12 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, three JF-17 Thunder Block II and 12 Super Tucano aircraft, 24 M-346 FAs on order, Helicopter gunships, armed attack drones, and military transport aircraft.