Court martial for officers over drone strike

Two Nigerian military officers will face a court martial over a December drone strike that killed at least 85 civilians, the Defence Headquarters said. The 3 December attack was one of the country's worst airstrike errors. The Nigerian military acknowledged the drone accidentally struck a village in northwest Kaduna State, killing residents as they celebrated a Muslim festival, Voice of America reports. The military depends on aerial assaults to combat Islamic militants in the northeast and armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest. It said it misinterpreted the religious gathering of villagers as armed criminal gangs and apologised for the error. Defence Headquarters spokesperson Major-General Edward Buba said the strike should have never happened. ‘The military has conducted a painstaking investigation into the incident and has initiated disciplinary action against those culpable,’ he said. The UN human rights office said the drone strike was the latest of at least four airstrikes since 2017 that caused significant civilian fatalities. It called on the government to take steps to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Full Voice of America report