Image copyright AFP PHOTO/DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) Image caption More than 100 people are said to have been injured

A Nigerian military jet has mistakenly bombed a camp for displaced people in the north-east, killing at least 52 people and injuring many more. The state government official, who was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded from the remote area by helicopters, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. Military commander Major General Lucky Irabor acknowledged the incident that occurred in the town of Rann while President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his sadness over “this regrettable operational mistake” and said that assistance would be offered to the state. It was believed to be the first time Nigeria’s military has acknowledged making such a mistake in a region where villagers have in the past reported civilian casualties in the near-daily bombings targeting the Islamic militants. “The safety of civilians must be respected.”

The International Committee for the Red Cross says six workers with the Nigerian Red Cross were among the dead and 13 were wounded. A statement from spokesman Etienne l’Hermitte urged authorities to facilitate land and air evacuations, saying, “Our medical and surgical teams in Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. The general, who is the theater commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, says he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering in the area, along with geographic coordinates. Villagers have previously reported civilian casualties in airstrikes on Boko Haram positions in northeastern Nigeria. Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by Air Force bombardments, according to the freed girls’ parents.
A Nigerian Air Force jet mistakenly bombs a refugee camp in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, killing at least 90 people and injuring more than 100. The pilot reportedly believed he was attacking Boko Haram militants.