Nigerias
notorious movement group called Boko Haram has reportedly abducted 30
adolescents, some of them girls aged as young as 11, AFP reports
"The
insurgents... grabbed young people, boys and girls, from our region," said
Alhaji Shettima Maina, who is in charge of the Mafa village around 50
kilometres (30 miles) east of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
"They
took all boys aged 13 and over... and all girls aged 11 and more. According to
our information, 30 young people were abducted in the last two days." continue,,
Another
village elder, Mallam Ashiekh Mustapha, confirmed the account. Both men said 17
people were also killed in recent days in a Boko Haram attack on the nearby
village of Ndongo. Boko Haram, which has been waging a bloody insurgency since
2009, has been responsible for waves of attacks and abductions.
In April,
the Islamist rebel group snatched more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in
northeast Nigeria, triggering an international outcry. Kidnapping young women
and girls -- as well as forcibly conscripting young men and boys to fight for
Boko Haram -- is a well-established tactic by the militants. Some estimates put
the number of women held by the group in the high hundreds. Most are believed
to be forced into marriages with rebels.
The latest
kidnapping comes despite the Nigerian government declaring a truce with the
insurgents and the army retaking control of Abadam in the north-east on
Saturday, according to a senior security official in the region.
But local
chief Maina said his village and areas around it were targeted in nearly daily
raids by Boko Haram, and many residents have fled to Maiduguri "for fear
of being killed or losing their children". He said he had pleaded for help
from the Nigerian government but that so far none had been forthcoming.
.jpg)
0 Comments