Nigeria locals recount horror of civilian deaths in US-led airstrikes

In northern Nigeria, US-backed airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians, locals say.

The US previously announced that 175 Islamic State militants had been killed in May. US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has a large neocolonial footprint on the continent.

Drop Site News reported this week:

The strikes were part of an expanding war between the Nigerian government and local Islamist groups which has drawn the increased involvement of the Trump administration, with little scrutiny. Metele, a remote community in northern Borno State near the Nigeria-Niger border, has long been affected by insurgent activities.

Reporters added:

Security sources and local residents have frequently identified the area and its surroundings as locations where fighters affiliated with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) operate.

At the time, AFRICOM chief general, Dagvin Anderson, said:

As President Trump shared last night, AFRICOM in coordination with the Armed Forces of Nigeria, bravely and valiantly conducted a successful mission that resulted in the elimination of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, and multiple other ISIS leaders.

Nigeria: Dozens killed and injured

Reports from the ground tell a different story. Metele’s village head, Zannah Abba Aji, told Drop Site News:

The community experienced a tragic airstrike attack recently which caused heavy casualties and destruction in Metele.

Many innocent civilians were affected during the incident.

Aji compiled a list of 27 civilians killed in the strikes, including 12 women and children.

Doctor Adam Asil Tijjani confirmed that “several noncombatants had been killed in the strikes”. He told Drop Site:

…two women and four children received in the aftermath of the bombings had died from their injuries there.

Those injuries included:

…burns, fractures, shrapnel wounds, and trauma-related injuries.

Eyewitness Goni Ahmed also described the horror:

First, we heard aircraft overhead. Shortly afterward, there were loud explosions that shook the ground. After the blasts, I could hear people shouting, crying, and calling for assistance. The sounds of panic and confusion continued for quite some time.

In the moments before:

Children were playing, women were preparing meals, and there was nothing to suggest that anything unusual was about to happen.

Civilian Protection Center of Excellence scrapped

The Trump administration intentionally axed a new civilian casualty accountability unit called the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, Propublica reported in March.

The civilian protection mission was dissolved as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made “lethality” a top priority.

The outlet added:

Dismantling the fledgling harm-reduction effort, defense analysts say, is among several ways the Trump administration has reorganized national security around two principles: more aggression, less accountability.

The US practice of training local forces and backing them with airpower has shattered communities across the world. Trump cancelling a US accountability monitor has certainly compounded the issue.

However, the truth is, this is a US approach to ‘counter-terrorism’ that has thrived under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The suffering in Africa barely figures in the grand calculations of empire, whoever is running it on the day.

Featured image via Ahmed Kingimi/ Reuters