The Nigerian military has defended an air strike on Jilli village market near the Borno–Yobe border, calling the target a terrorist enclave as public anger grows over reported civilian casualties. The strike, carried out on Saturday under Operation HADIN KAI, has sparked widespread backlash, with local authorities, political leaders and rights groups condemning the incident amid conflicting accounts of casualties.
Local sources reported the death toll at over 40 civilians, while other reports indicated that figures could be significantly higher, reflecting ongoing confusion and lack of consensus over the exact number of casualties. The military maintained that the location was a legitimate military target, describing Jilli as a known logistics hub and convergence point for fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province.
In a statement yesterday, the Media Information Officer of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt. Col. Sanni Uba, said the operation followed sustained intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions that tracked the movements of suspected terrorists, including motorcycles and gun trucks, converging on the area.
