Soldiers of the Niger Army on Thursday killed 14 civilians after incorrectly identifying them for militants of the Boko Haram group, a local official said, according to Reuters. The victims, all unarmed farmers, were in a restricted zone around Abadam village near the Nigerian border when they were gunned down by a patrol party.

“Fourteen people are dead,” said Yahaya Godi, secretary general of the Diffa region of southeast Niger. “Abadam is a village located in the red zone and has been prohibited for a very long time. Any individual seen in the area is considered Boko Haram.”

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Godi identified two of the dead from Niger and the rest from neighbouring Nigeria, where the militant outfit is based. Boko Haram has carried out several cross-border attacks into Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the past.

It was not immediately clear why the civilians were in the restricted area. The Niger Army has not offered a comment.