The Federal Government delegation at Borno Government House

A Federal Government delegation led by Alhaji Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday visited Borno to condole with the government and people over the incident of Tuesday.

The Air Force mistakenly deployed rockets at Rann in Kala Balge Local Government Area of the state killing many civilians and wounding others.

Kyari expressed the Federal Government’s regret over the incident when the delegation visited Gov. Kashim Shettima in Government House.

He blamed it on the Boko Haram terrorists, who were fond of hiding among the civilian population.

Kyari, who noted that the incident was a isolated one, however, called on the military to be cautious in their operations.

He assured that the Federal Government would work together with the Borno government to foot the bills of those injured in the incident.

Responding, Shettima noted that wars were replete with friendly fire, adding that they accounted for 20 per cent in war.

The governor said that such incidents were as old as mankind and rampant, citing similar incidents in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

“We do not justify the incident, but they are common,” he said and thanked the Federal Government for the visit.

He restated that the insurgents had been degraded to the extent that they no longer pose threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria.

The governor commended the military, saying “nobody attempted to hide anything or sweep anything under the carpet.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the delegation includes Ministers of Defence and Information, Mansur Dan-Ali, and Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The rest are; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. (NAN)