The Nigerian military rescued a second set of female captives April 29 from the Sambisa Forest stronghold of Boko Haram in northeastern Borno state, Nigeria, just one day after securing more than 200 girls and 93 women from the same area.
About 220 teenage Chibok schoolgirls missing for more than a year are not believed to be among those secured, but the identities of all of the females recovered are still being determined, Nigeria military officials said in news reports. Officials have not disclosed the number of women and girls included in the second set of captives freed, but those rescued have been evacuated to a safety zone for further screening.
Dangerous rescue
Those rescued are said to be in need of intensive psychological treatment. Some have been so indoctrinated in Boko Haram ideology that the females opened fire on soldiers trying to free them, and others may have become emotionally attached to militants they were forced to marry, Associated Press reported. In the latest rescue, several people were killed including a Nigerian soldier and a woman.
Newly elected president Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to defeat Boko Haram and gain freedom for the 219 Chibok schoolgirls still missing since the militants kidnapped nearly 300 students and destroyed their boarding school April 15, 2014. More than 70 of the girls managed to escape on their own.
Since the beginning of 2014, Boko Haram has kidnapped at least 2,000 women and girls, Amnesty International has estimated.
(BP)
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