Death Toll In IDP Camp Bombing Rises To 76

Death Toll In IDP Camp Bombing Rises To 76

The death toll in the accidental strike launched by the Nigerian Air Force on Tuesday on an Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camp, at Rann in Borno state has risen to 76.

This is even as more than 100 were wounded, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) said on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reported the death toll as 52 with 120 wounded.

ICRC said six Nigeria Red Cross members were killed and 13 wounded. “In addition to aid staff, it is estimated that 70 people have been killed and more than a hundred wounded,” it said in a statement.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the information minister, said “the accidental bombing is not a true reflection of the level of professionalism” he had witnessed in the air force, in a statement issued earlier today.

He described as utterly tragic the accidental bombing of a civilian community in Rann, Borno State, by a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet, causing deaths and injuries.

The Air Force had said an unspecified number of civilians were killed and wounded in the mistaken strike in Borno state.

Meanwhile, the Air Force says it regretted the accidental attack, which was aimed at Boko Haram group.