A military plane trying to bomb camps of the Boko Haram extremist group in the Sambisa Forest on Friday night "mistook the village (Daglun) for a Boko Haram camp," said Ali Ndume, a senator representing the region. The inaccurate air raid was part of "an ongoing offensive" against the insurgents, Ndume said.
Ndume said the four bombs dropped by the government aircraft killed five people and wounded several others. But Daglun residents, some of whom were forced to flee into the bush from burning homes, said the bombardment caused many more casualties.
"The village was asleep when I heard an aircraft hovering, and within a short interval, aerial bombardment started," a villager said, adding he was one of 25 wounded. "The bombs torched homes and killed 20 people, most of them elderly people who could not run fast enough to escape the bombing." The villager refused to give his name, fearing retaliation.
A nurse at Mubi General Hospital, 45 kilometers (30 miles) away, confirmed that 25 people were admitted with "mostly severe burns and ruptured tissues."
CNN was unable to confirm the number of causalities.
In a statement Sunday, the Nigerian military dismissed the allegation that civilians were mistakenly killed in air operations, "as the claim could not be confirmed after the mopping up aspect of the operation.
"The reports are believed to be part of the design by those bent on discrediting the counter terrorists mission," it said.
Less than 24 hours after that incident, a flurry of violence in northeastern Nigeria, blamed on Boko Haram, left more than three dozen people dead and may have taken many more lives.
Dozens of attackers in military uniforms stormed the village of Mainok on Saturday evening, riding four-wheelers and motorcycles, as residents were preparing for evening prayers.
From BEN Latest News
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