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Nigerian leader expresses regret over airstrike on refugee camp

Xinhua, January 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari said he received with deep sadness and regret the news of the accidental bombing of a refugee camp in the northeastern state of Borno by the Nigerian military on Tuesday.

Buhari, who noted the military was engaged in the final phase of mopping up Boko Haram terrorists in the country's northeast region, pleaded for calm and pledged federal help for the Borno State government in attending to "this regrettable operational mistake."

A Nigerian fighter jet misfired into a refugee camp at Rann Internally Displaced People's camp in Kala Balge area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, killing two soldiers and a number of civilians, the Nigerian Army said.

The civilian victims, whose exact number could not be confirmed yet, included aid workers of the International Committee of Red Cross and the Medicines Sans Frontiers, said Lucky Irabor, commander of army operations in Borno State.

He said the incident occurred after an intelligence report was received that Boko Haram terrorists were regrouping in the area.

Two humanitarian workers and two soldiers were among the wounded victims, the army commander said, describing the incident as "disturbing."

The military has already sent a helicopter to evacuate the wounded persons, while the Borno State government has also ordered free treatment of the victims in all government hospitals.

Terror group Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.3 million other since their insurgency started in 2009.

However, Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging the Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, their last enclave in the country.

Last weekend, air troops in coordinated day and night operations, using a helicopter gunship and fighter jets, had successfully destroyed the new camp of Boko Haram situated about 1 nautical mile south of Tumbum Rego in northern Borno, denying the terrorists the opportunity to regroup for more attacks.

In a statement late Monday, the Nigerian military said it was intensifying aerial and ground patrol in the country's northeast, extending its offensive mission around the Green Belt Region near Niger and Chad. Endit