MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Tons of of hostages, largely youngsters and ladies, who had been held captive for months or years by Boko Haram extremists in northeastern Nigeria have been rescued from a forest enclave and handed over to authorities, the military stated.
The 350 hostages had been held within the Sambisa Forest, a hideout for the extremist group which launched an insurgency in 2009, Maj. Gen. Ken Chigbu, a senior Nigerian military officer, stated late Monday whereas presenting them to authorities in Borno, the place the forest is.
The 209 youngsters, 135 girls and 6 males appeared exhausted of their worn-out garments. A few of the women had infants believed to have been born from compelled marriages, as is commonly the case with feminine victims who’re both raped or compelled to marry the militants whereas in captivity.
One of many hostages had seven youngsters and spoke of how she and others could not escape due to their youngsters.
“I all the time needed to flee however couldn’t due to the youngsters,” stated Hajara Umara, who was rescued collectively together with her youngsters. “In the event that they caught you making an attempt to flee, they’d torture you and imprison you indefinitely.”
The military stated the hostages had been rescued throughout a dayslong army operation in Sambisa Forest, which was as soon as a bustling forest reserve that stretches alongside the border with Cameroon and Niger, however now serves as an enclave from the place Boko Haram and its breakaway factions perform assaults that additionally goal individuals and safety forces in neighboring international locations.
The freed hostages had been transported in vehicles to the Borno state authorities home, the place authorities will take care of them till they go house.
Some extremists had been killed in the course of the rescue operation and their makeshift homes had been destroyed, the military stated.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadi rebels, launched its insurgency in 2009 to ascertain Islamic Shariah legislation within the nation. Not less than 35,000 individuals have been killed and a pair of.1 million individuals displaced because of the extremist violence, in accordance with U.N. businesses in Nigeria.
Not less than 1,400 college students have been taken from Nigerian faculties for the reason that 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants within the village of Chibok in Borno state shocked the world. Lately, abductions have been concentrated within the nation’s conflict-battered northwestern and central areas, the place dozens of armed teams typically goal villagers and vacationers for ransom.
