Nigerian air force mistakenly bombs refugee camp, killing at least 52

Jardine Malado Thursday, January 19, 2017

Injured people are comforted at the site after a bombing attack of an internally displaced persons camp in Rann, Nigeria. | MSF/Handout via Reuters

At least 52 people were killed after the Nigerian air force mistakenly bombed a refugee camp in Rann, Borno state on Tuesday. About 120 more were injured in the attack that was intended for the terrorist group Boko Haram.

Andronicus Adeyemo, secretary-general of the Nigerian Red Cross, said that the bombing killed six of its staff and volunteers, The National reported.

Gen. Lucky Irabor, the Nigerian military commander who oversees counter-insurgency operations in the north-east, said there would be an investigation regarding the incident.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who has vowed to end Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency, appealed for calm and stated that the incident was a "regrettable operational mistake."

The president announced last month that a key camp in the terror group's Sambisa forest base in Borno state had fallen. He also noted that the air strike occurred during the "final phase of mopping up insurgents in the north-east."

About 15,000 people have been killed and over two million have been forced to flee their homes as a result of Boko Haram's insurgency.

The terror group has stepped up its attacks in the past few weeks as the end of the rainy season allowed the militants to move more easily in the bushes.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombing that occurred at a university in northeastern Nigeria on Monday. A professor and a child were killed, and 17 people were injured in the attack, according to officials.

The International Red Cross (ICRC) said that it would continue delivering aid to northeast Nigeria.

"We remain committed to delivering desperately needed aid to conflict-affected populations in the northeast. Thoughts with families of our colleagues who have lost their loved ones," Alexandra Mosimann of the ICRC told Reuters.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said that its workers were trying to provide emergency treatment at its facility in the camp and that they were stabilizing patients to evacuate the injured.

"Our medical and surgical teams in Cameroon and Chad are ready to treat wounded patients. We are in close contact with our teams, who are in shock following the event," the aid group stated, as reported by Al Jazeera.