MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – A local official says the death toll from the bombing of a refugee camp by Nigeria’s air force has climbed to 236 — a sharp increase from earlier counts.
Babagana Malarima, chairman of the Kala Balge local government council of northeast Borno state, said Monday that 234 of the victims were buried in Rann, where the camp was located, while two others died at a hospital in Maiduguri.
On Jan. 17, Nigeria’s air force bombed the camp housing Boko Haram refugees multiple times. Air force officials said it was an accident and formed a panel of senior officers to investigate.
Last Friday, medical charity Doctors Without Borders put the death toll at “around 90” but also noted that community leaders said it could have been much higher.
