Chadian troops have rescued some 85 Nigerians who had been abducted last week by Takfiri Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria.
On August 10, Boko Haram militants stormed the village of Doron Baga on the shores of Lake Chad and kidnapped some 100 young men and several women. At least 28 people were killed and several houses were burnt in the raid, according to residents.
On Saturday, a senior security official in Nigeria’s Borno State said Chadian forces intercepted a convoy of buses “carrying 85 Nigerians believed to have been kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from Baga.”
“The convoy being led by six Boko Haram gunmen was stopped on the Chadian part of the border along Lake Chad for routine checks and the huge number of people in the convoy raised suspicion,” he said.
An official of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, said 65 men and 22 women were subsequently rescued while some 30 others are still being held by the militants.
Boko Haram has also claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009. It has repeatedly targeted civilians, killing more than 2,000 people since January.
SAB/HJL
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