In northeastern Nigeria, near the jihadist camp, 20 innocent fishermen got killed. It was during a military strike that took place last weekend. News erupted from locals and two security officers near the jihadist region.
A Nigerian fighter jet bombarded the Lake Chad region on Sunday, specifically at Kwatar Duban Masara base. It aimed to disrupt activities in Cameroon, Chad, and the Niger area. The marked areas in those neighboring countries are regions where the deadly gang of Islamic State West Africa Province settled. The military planned to surround the gang, but only to shoot the wrong people.
Two weeks back, a strike in a neighboring village led to the killing of nine residents. Nigerians are aiming to disrupt the Islamist insurgency that has been tragic for almost 12 years. ISWAP reported a ban on fishing from that region. They told the fishermen to perform their activities in the freshwater lake at a high fee. How can you even pay for the land that you have used since you were born? It sounds awkward. This brought a lot of chaos as the fishermen fought back for their territory.
Local intelligence personnel said the fishermen who defile the rule go to the region at their own risk. The region is treated as the enemy region. You cannot differentiate ISWAP security from terrorists. They look scary. No human has the guts to stand next to them without a weapon. Yesterday, an authority spokesman said the number of deaths keeps growing wide. It’s now going to surpass 20.
At around 6 am, 0500GMT, the jet arrived in Kwatar and struck the ground people. Almost 20 people lost their lives. Duban Masara is the main gate pass for ISWAP teams on several islands. So, the police officers suspected the fishermen to be the targeted people. Sallau Arzik, one of the fishermen, said their fellows were innocent and did not deserve such cruel treatment. However, even some people who got injured continue to multiply the number of deaths.
The news was broadcast late because of poor telecommunications. Even the Nigerian air force did not seek any confirmation messages.
Since Wednesday, Qatar has been a target for the gatherings of ISWAP fighters. The Intelligence team was very organized to curb the gang. Internet aerial surveillance showed that the terrorists were roaming around the Kwatar Duban area. And this indicated that they were planning to do something bad. The Nigerian government had to come through and look for means to stop them. They might be a threat to the state.
Another source from the security department admitted that the surveillance had taken place for almost ten days. This comes after a vehicle arrives in the region with foreign men. They then decided to take their camps inside the island. The security confirmed, “It was a preemptive strike to destroy whatever plans the terrorists were making,”
Nigerian army fighters assumed that no residents could be found in that region. Therefore, they only knew of the terrorist who was their main target.
This is not the first strike to kill innocent people. On 16th September, a strike in Yobe state resulted in 9 innocent deaths. Security officials announced the report. The Air Force responded by saying they were after a group of jihadists. They conducted a very urgent investigation, which by bad luck, resulted in deaths.
The fight between the jihadists and the Nigerian national government has been on fire since 2009. They have battled for almost 12 years. More than 40 000 people have died, while another two million have lost their lovely homes. The rest run away to become refugees in other countries.
The fighting has even extended to the neighboring countries of Chad, Cameroon, and Niger. This led the four countries to come up with a combined military coalition to stop the violence.
The worst strike happened in 2017 when 112 people got killed with a fighting jet. As a result, around 40 0000 presidents were displaced from their matrimonial homes. The violence took place in Rann in Nigeria near the Cameroon border.
Nigerian officers were blamed for that. Some organizations claimed poor marking of the targeted area. The report came out late, six months after the attack.
After two years, in early 2019, another 13 innocent residents got killed by another Nigerian jet fighter. It hit Gajiganna, which is 50 kilometers from Burno state. They were targeting jihadists in a nearby region.
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