Dozens killed in air strike on market by Nigerian military

April 13 (UPI) -- More than 50 people were killed in an air strike at a Nigerian market by the Nigerian military, and some say the death toll is much higher.

The market was in northeast Nigeria along the border between Borno and Yobe states. The military was hunting Islamist militants in the area, which it said was an abandoned village in Borno. It said militants had moved into the village.

But local authorities and human rights groups said the village, Jilli, hosts a popular weekly market that brings hundreds to the area. They also denied that the town was abandoned.

They said the number of people killed, mostly civilians, was much higher than the government has reported.

"I spoke to the hospital authorities, and they confirmed that at least 100 have been killed," said Isa Sanusi, executive director of Amnesty International in Nigeria.

"We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital," the BBC reported Sanusi said. "We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims."

Malam Lawan Zanna, a member of a local council, said the number is double that.

"The figures are not certain, as we are still recovering bodies," The New York Times reported Zanna said. "But as I am speaking, over 200 people have lost their lives from the airstrike at the market."

The Nigerian Air Force said it sent a team "to immediately proceed to the location on a fact-finding mission on the allegation," in a statement.

The northeast of Nigeria has seen a wave of violence recently, with battles between two Islamist groups: Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.

"Political violence in Nigeria overall rose by over 25% in March," Ladd Serwat, an Africa analyst at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, a research group in Madison, Wis., told The Times.

The State Department issued a travel warning for Nigeria, listing at least 23 Nigerian states that Americans should not travel to because of terrorism, crime, unrest and kidnapping. It also authorized voluntary departures for U.S. government employees and their families because of the "deteriorating security situation."

The Nigerian government responded, saying the warning does not reflect "the overall security situation."

The Nigerian military said Sunday that Jilli was a targeted location "long identified as a major terrorist movement corridor and convergence point for Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists and their collaborators," the BBC reported.

It called the strike "a carefully well-coordinated, planned and intelligence-driven operation," saying it had "successfully conducted a precision air strike on a known terrorist enclave and logistics hub located near the abandoned village of Jilli."

It said "scores of terrorists" were killed.

Though about 200 U.S. military troops have been in Nigeria since February for support, the U.S. did not contribute intelligence for this attack.

"U.S. forces were not involved in the planning, intelligence sharing or execution of this operation," The Times reported Col. Rebecca Heyse, a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command said. "Nigerian forces retain full command and control of all military operations on their sovereign territory."

​​"In Jilli market, insurgents move freely and openly on motorcycles, often armed, overseeing transactions and maintaining control," Yunusa Bunu, a security analyst in Maiduguri, Borno, told The Times.

"Because of the absence of government authority in much of northern Borno, many communities have been left vulnerable, with militants effectively dictating daily life and economic activity," Bunu said.

In telephone interviews, The Times reported, local residents said most of the traders and buyers hit at the market in the airstrikes were civilians.

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This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 8:49 AM.