Niger State Airstrike Kills 12 Civilians, Military Denies

Early Sunday morning, a Nigerian military airstrike targeted armed terrorists in villages near Kusasu in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing at least a dozen civilians according to local residents while the military maintained that only terrorists and their informants died.

Residents described the incident occurring around 5 a.m. as aircraft pursued a group of terrorists on motorcycles passing through Kusasu toward neighboring Munya Local Government Area. One bomb landed near a river in Kusasu, and a second struck a residence in the nearby settlement of Guradnayi. Auta Awododo, a Kusasu resident, said 12 people died in a relative's house there, including his cousin's son. "The rest were Kusasu people who were fleeing from the terrorists," he told reporters.

Victor Solomon, a 50-year-old survivor treated for severe facial injuries, reported losing three of his children in the strike. Gideon Bamaiyi, another resident, said 13 people, including seven children sheltering in his elder brother's house, were killed, with six others hospitalized, five of them unconscious as of Sunday evening. Families appealed for government assistance to cover medical costs, including...