Nigeria and Niger republic have been conducting joint military operations against armed gangs and terrorists in the border regions.
A local Governor and state media reports that seven children were killed in Niger republic in an air strike by the Nigerian army targeting terrorists.
Governor of Niger’s Maradi region told journalists that five more were hurt in the accidental strike.
Governor Chaibou Aboubacar confirmed that four were killed instantly and three died on their way to hospital. State TV said the attack happened in Nachade village.
He added that the victims’ parents were attending a ceremony and the children were probably playing when the air strikes hit them.
Aboubacar believed that the planes were targeting “armed bandits” in areas around the border between the two countries but missed their target and hit Nachade, a village in the area of Madarounfa.
The children’s deaths come just three months after 26 children aged five and six died in a fire at a school in Maradi city.
