At approximately 6:00 am local time, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jet conducted an airstrike on the Lake Chad fishing village of Kwatar Daban Masara, in the southern Tumbuns of Monguno LGA, Borno State. The strike, which targeted the village’s fish market, was part of Operation HADIN KAI and was described by the Defence Headquarters as a “precision strike” on an identified ISWAP logistics camp, based on intelligence gathered between 19 August and 23 September 2021. According to the military, ISWAP fighters had amassed in the village, were wearing combat vests and ISWAP‑style uniforms, and were engaged in loading canoes with unidentified items—not fishing. However, local fishermen, anti‑jihadist militia sources, and survivors reported that the jet bombarded a gathering of civilians who had resumed fishing after ISWAP recently lifted a ban on fishing in its territory (in exchange for a tax).
26 Sept 2021 · Kwatar Daban Masara, Monguno, Borno
Deaths
20
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
20
Perpetrators
State Security Actors
Response
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) issued a strong denial on September 30, 2021, stating that the air interdiction was a "precision strike" on an identified ISWAP camp. They claimed the area was a known ISWAP enclave, that there was an existing ban on fishing activities, and that surveillance showed no women or children in or around the camp, indicating no civilian presence.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
The Nigerian military intensified airstrikes against ISWAP camps in the Lake Chad region as part of ongoing operations. The fog of war and reliance on faulty intelligence often leads to misidentification of targets. The military’s immediate denial of civilian casualties is a recurring pattern designed to maintain public support for counter-insurgency operations and avoid legal or political repercussions.
Trajectory
The Kwatar Daban Masara airstrike was not an isolated incident. It followed a pattern of similar accidental bombings of civilian targets by the Nigerian military, including the January 2017 Rann IDP camp bombing (over 100 civilians killed) and the March 2020 air strike on a market in Borno (several civilians killed). These incidents have eroded trust between local communities and the armed forces, complicating counter-insurgency efforts. The military’s consistent denial of wrongdoing, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, has become a hallmark of its response to such tragedies.
Cycle notes
This pattern mirrored the January 2017 Rann IDP camp bombing, in which over 100 civilians were killed after a military jet mistakenly targeted a displacement camp believed to be an insurgent position, and the April 2025 Gundumi market airstrike in Zamfara State, where a military drone strike killed at least 30 civilians at a community market. Across these incidents, a recurring pattern emerges: Nigerian military air operations in conflict zones suffer from intelligence failures and target misidentification within fluid, asymmetric environments. These errors have led to devastating strikes on civilian‑populated areas, including displacement camps, communal markets, and religious gatherings. These events also share a consistent post‑incident pattern: initial official denial or justification of the target selection – for example, the Defence Headquarters claiming that strikes hit "confirmed terrorist structures" despite mounting eyewitness accounts of civilian casualties. This defensive posture, combined with a lack of transparent, independent investigations, further intensifies distrust between affected communities and state security forces.
Pattern
Accidental Airstrike
Related — Counter-Insurgency
In a heavy exchange of fire following a series of intelligence‑led raids, the Joint Task Force (JTF) engaged Boko Haram insurgents in the Lawanti Ward of Maiduguri. The clash occurred when insurgents attempted to launch an ambush on a military patrol. The soldiers repelled the attack and pursued the militants to a hideout, where a prolonged gun battle ensued.
Troops from Operation FANSAN YANMA, in collaboration with police and local vigilantes, responded to a mass abduction in Bargaja village, Isa LGA. A large group of armed Bandits had invaded the village, abducting girls who had gone to the forest to fetch firewood and shooting two farmers working on their farms. Security forces engaged the Bandits in a heavy, hours-long gun battle, forcing them to retreat toward the Nigerien border and successfully rescuing all 17 kidnapped girls. The two farmers were killed during the initial Bandits attack. The rescued victims were handed over to the local government authorities.
Around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, armed Bandits mounted a roadblock along the Adoka Road in Otukpo LGA to intercept commercial and private vehicles. The Benue State Police Command, acting on distress calls, deployed patrol operatives and tactical squads to the scene. A fierce gun battle ensued between the security forces and the Bandits. The superior firepower of the police forced the assailants to retreat into the nearby forest, abandoning several passengers who had been stranded or were about to be abducted.