What was supposed to be an ordinary Sunday morning for hundreds of people turned into hell within seconds. A deafening explosion ripped through the air directly above the crowd that had gathered at the market in search of food and basic necessities.
Witnesses recall horrifying scenes: screams, smoke, scattered goods, and people desperately trying to find their loved ones in panic. Many did not even have time to understand what had happened before a deadly wave came from the sky.
The first hours after the tragedy were filled with chaos and fear. Rescuers and local residents used their bare hands to clear the debris, trying to save those who were still showing signs of life. The death toll was rising by the minute.
Only later did it become known that the tragedy occurred in northeastern Nigeria, in Yobe State, where the country’s air force was carrying out an operation against militants from the Boko Haram group. The strike was aimed at a suspected terrorist hideout, but instead the bomb hit a Sunday market in the town of Gilli.
According to human rights advocates from Amnesty International, at least 100 people were killed on the spot, while dozens more suffered severe injuries. The exact number of victims may be significantly higher, as some of the wounded are still being searched for among the ruins and burned market stalls.
The regional government acknowledged that the strike was indeed carried out by the military as part of an anti-terrorist operation. At the same time, officials stated that the intended target was a militant camp hidden near a forest area where jihadist groups have operated for years.
Security experts explain that such tragedies are often caused by serious intelligence failures and poor coordination between air forces and ground units. It is precisely because of these targeting mistakes that civilians once again found themselves under attack.
According to estimates by journalists from Associated Press, since 2017 at least 500 civilians in the country have been killed in similar “mistaken” airstrikes. This tragedy may become one of the bloodiest on that grim list.
