The governor of Zamfara, Bello Matawalle, confirmed that a military airstrike against alleged terrorists at the Malele and Mutunji settlements in the state’s Maru Local Government Areas killed a lot of people and soldiers last Sunday.
The governor did not, however, provide a precise count of those killed in the tragedy.
According to eyewitness reports to Channels Television, 68 residents were killed and about 40 more were injured. Major General Uwem Bassey, the Theater Commander for Operation Hadarin Daji, asserted that nothing like it existed.
In a TV show, Matawalle said that the collateral damage happened when the security forces attacked people they thought were terrorists who were scaring innocent people in the Malele and Mutunji settlements.
He told the families of the people who died and the service members who died protecting their country that he was sorry.
He declared that the victims’ families would receive assistance from the state government.
He said that his government is still committed to giving the security forces the tools and resources they need to win the ongoing war against the terrorist groups that are hurting the defenseless civilians of the state.
