Women Arise civil society led by Joe Odumakin (C) accompanied by afro-beat musician Femi Anikulapo Kuti demonstrate to press for the release of missing Chibok school girls in Lagos on May 12, 2014. Boko Haram released a new video on Monday claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. AFP
DAMASAK – Boko Haram militants have kidnapped more than 400 women and children from the northern town of Damasak that was freed this month by troops from Niger and Chad, residents said on Tuesday.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the figure, but the Islamist group has previously carried out mass kidnappings. Boko Haram’s abduction last April of nearly 300 schoolgirls in the region stirred international outrage and drew global attention to the group’s six-year insurgency
“They took 506 young women and children (in Damasak). They killed about 50 of them before leaving,” a trader called Souleymane Ali told Reuters in the town. “We don’t know if they killed others after leaving, but they took the rest with them.”
More detals soon
Disclaimer
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.