At least 52 people are dead and 120 are injured in Nigeria after a military jet mistakenly bombed a refugee camp.

Six Red Cross workers were killed and 13 others injured in the bombing, the charity said.

Among the wounded are also two soldiers and Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders.

The bombing happened in the north eastern Rann, near the border with Cameroon.

Refugees at the camp have been fleeing violence from the terror group Boko Haram.

It is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake.

Military commander Major General Lucky Irabor said he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic coordinates.

It is too early to say if a tactical error was made, he said.

"This large-scale attack on vulnerable people who have already fled from extreme violence is shocking and unacceptable," says Dr Jean-Clément Cabrol, MSF Director of Operations.

"The safety of civilians must be respected. We are urgently calling on all parties to ensure the facilitation of medical evacuations by air or road for survivors who are in need of emergency care."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the workers who were killed were "part of a team bringing desperately needed food for more than 25,000 displaced people in Rann".

The charity added it is "coordinating medical emergency efforts with relevant authorities and other aid actors" in Nigeria.