Rann bombing

Boko Haram is a jihadist group of insurgents that demands Sharia law in Nigeria. They have been active in the Rann area, and Nigeria's military had mounted an offensive in 2016 that forced the group out. However, Boko Haram fighters returned after the region's rainy season ended, allowing them to travel more easily, and in December had attacked a military facility in the area. ==Incident==

Early reporting said that the Nigerian military had received information that Boko Haram forces were gathering in preparation for an attack on a military target. The airstrike took place sometime during the day—reports varied from about 09:00 local time On 20 January, MSF said that they had confirmed 90 fatalities, and had received local reports that the final toll could be up to 170. An emergency services official in Nigeria said on 24 January that the number of dead had reached 115 confirmed; while other reports had said that 236 were killed, the official said that the larger number was the total of dead and injured. In 2022, The Intercept published a report on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that suggested that the American military had provided the Nigerian military with intelligence support ahead of the airstrike. In the documents, the United States Africa Command ordered a formal investigation into the airstrike, calling it part of "U.S.-Nigerian operations." ==Response==

The United Nations (UN) and Red Cross jointly deployed a helicopter mission carrying medical personnel and of supplies, which arrived late on the 17th On 24 January, an Air Force spokesman said that the investigation would be concluded by 2 February, though he did not say whether the military would release its findings. Mausi Segun, a member of the Human Rights Watch in Nigeria, said that regardless of intent, the group considered the bombing a crime, saying that "[e]ven if there is no evidence of a willful attack on the camp, which would be a war crime, the camp was bombed indiscriminately, violating international humanitarian law." Hugues Robert of MSF said "This was a very densely populated place that was full of civilians who already lived there and internally displaced persons who had come there," while The Economist criticized the bombing for occurring in the camp even though it was under army control at the time. ==References==