No fewer than 72 people were reportedly killed after a military air strike hit Tumfa market in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara state on Sunday, according to AFP. Citing a community leader, AFP reports that some of the victims’ bodies were “blown beyond recognition”.

“The actual death toll is hard to establish at the moment. Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market. People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do,” Garba Ibrahim Mashema told AFP.

A local source told the news wire service that the Tumfa market is controlled by bandits and that some of those killed were “young girls selling millet porridge and tofu in the market”.

Amnesty International said the death toll has risen to more than 100 people. It added that dozens of injured victims were receiving treatment following the air strike.

The organisation said one of the affected villages buried 80 people in one fell swoop. Amnesty International said: “The authorities must investigate these deadly strikes, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians.