The Nigerian army claims it has rescued 178 people – 101 of them children – from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram over the weekend.
In a statement released on Sunday, the military announced they had destroyed several Boko Haram terrorist camps in northern Borno state, freeing 101 children, 67 women and 10 men who had been captured.
Army spokesperson Colonel Tukur Gusau also said that a Boko Haram commander “was captured alive and is presently undergoing investigation”.
Unfortunately, AFP have confirmed that the 219 schoolgirls who were abducted in Chibok in April 2014 were not among those rescued.
In recent months, the Nigerian military has announced the release of hundreds of people held captive by the radicalised group. Just last week, the army said it had released 30 hostages including 21 children about 90 kilometres east of Maiduguri, and 59 captives in another operation near the town of Konduga in the same area.
According to Amnesty International, at least 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2014, and the group’s insurgents have reportedly killed more than 15,500 civilians in Nigeria since 2012.
