Hundreds of hostages, primarily women and children, held captive for months and, in some cases, years, by Boko Haram extremists in northeastern Nigeria, have been rescued from a forest enclave and handed over to authorities, according to the Nigerian army.
The 350 hostages, detained in the Sambisa Forest, a known stronghold of Boko Haram since their insurgency began in 2009, were liberated, Maj. Gen. Ken Chigbu, a senior Nigerian army officer, announced late Monday during their presentation to authorities in Borno State.
The group of 209 children, 135 women, and six men appeared exhausted, wearing tattered clothing. Several of the girls had babies believed to be born from forced marriages, a common plight for female captives who are often subjected to rape or coerced marriages by the militants.
The Rescued Hostages
One of the hostages, Hajara Umara, who was rescued along with her seven children, shared her harrowing experience. “I always wanted to escape but couldn’t because of the children,” she said. “If they caught you trying to escape, they would torture you and imprison you indefinitely.”
The Military Operation
The army disclosed that the hostages were freed during a days-long military operation in the Sambisa Forest. This forest, once a thriving reserve spanning the borders with Cameroon and Niger, has become a base for Boko Haram and its splinter groups to launch attacks against civilians and security forces in neighboring countries.
Following their rescue, the hostages were transported in trucks to the Borno state government house, where authorities will care for them until they can return home. The army reported that several extremists were killed during the operation and their makeshift dwellings were destroyed.
Background
Boko Haram, a Nigerian jihadi group, began its insurgency in 2009 with the aim of imposing Islamic Shariah law in the country. According to U.N. agencies in Nigeria, the violence has resulted in at least 35,000 deaths and displaced 2.1 million people.
Since the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno state, by Boko Haram, at least 1,400 students have been kidnapped from Nigerian schools. Recent abductions have increasingly occurred in the country’s northwest and central regions, where numerous armed groups frequently kidnap villagers and travelers for ransom.
(AP)
