Nigerian airstrike hits market, 200 feared dead in northeast Yobe state

(Reuters)

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 12- At least 200 people are feared dead after Nigerian military jets struck a village market while ​pursuing Islamist militants in the northeast of the country on ‌Saturday night, a councillor for the area and residents said on Sunday.

Nigeria’s Air Force said it had killed Boko Haram militants in the Jilli axis in Borno ​state, but in a statement released to Reuters on Sunday it ​did not mention hitting a market. It did not respond ⁠to further requests for comment.

The strike occurred in a village in ​Yobe on the border with Borno, the heartland of a long-running insurgency ​that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

Lawan Zanna Nur Geidam, the councillor and traditional head of Fuchimeram ward in Yobe’s Geidam district told Reuters that ​those injured were being taken to hospitals in Yobe and Borno.

“It’s ​a very devastating incident at Jilli Market. As I’m speaking to you, over 200 ‌people ⁠have lost their lives from the air strike at the market,” he said in a telephone interview.

Three other residents and an official from an international humanitarian agency confirmed the strike and likely death toll.

The Yobe State ​Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said ​it had ⁠received preliminary reports of an incident at Jilli Market “which reportedly resulted in casualties affecting some marketers” and activated emergency ​response.

Ahmed Ali, a 43-year-old resident who sells medical consumables ​at the ⁠market, said he had been injured in a blast.

“I became so scared and attempted to run away, but a friend dragged me and we all ⁠lay ​on the ground,” he said from hospital.