By Iliya Kure
An air strike by Nigerian military on Kurebe village, north central Nigeria, has killed 6 girls and destroyed houses.
An affected resident told AFRICA PRIME NEWS that the incident occurred Wednesday morning, between 7 – 8am.
The resident who does not want his name mentioned say he could not understand the wisdom behind the strike, because “our village is far from the bandits hideout, it could be up to 30km.
“People say bandits do come to the village to buy items, but at the time of the air strike, markets were not open.
“I strongly believe, the air strike was a mistake,” he added
“We have suffered various degrees of damages. One house is completely damaged, others have a portion of their roof blown up, while others have cracks on their houses.
“Six girls, fetching water were also killed by the strike, between ages 6 and 9, the eldest being 9 years old. We have already buried them,” he told AFRICA PRIME NEWS.
He said so far, no one from the NAF, or state government has contacted them on the development.
Inhabited by about 2,000 people, Kurebe village, in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, is a border community with Kaduna State.
“It is about 25km to Udawa town, and about two hours drive to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State,” he added.
Earlier, spokesman of Coalition of Shiroro Associations, Salis Mohammed Sabo, told journalists that a father has lost two of his daughters and two granddaughters to the strike, adding that the community where the air strike took place was not the hideout of the bandits.
“The terrorists’ camps are well known. The terrorists around the community are of two groups, with two different camps. One links up with the community through Unguwan Zomo, the other through Kwantan Yashi area,” he said.
Earlier media report says the “Joint Security Operatives mistakenly struck the community while trying to bombard the hideouts of terrorists,” Daily Trust says.
Phone calls to spokesperson of Nigeria Air Force (NAF), Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, was unsuccessful.
