Boko Haram Kidnaps 20 More Young Mothers After The Mass Abduction Of 276 Schoolgirls
Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped at least 20 young women over the weekend in northeastern Nigeria, 8 kilometers from a town where more than 200 schoolgirls were taken nearly two months ago, local officials said Monday.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Jun 2014, 03:31 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
At least 20 young mothers have been kidnapped in Nigeria, in a siege likely perpetrated by Boko Haram. The victims were nabbed from the same town which saw more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April.
A video of Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be the leader of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, is shown on September 25, 2013. Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group waging a campaign of violence in northern Nigeria. The group's ambitions range from the stricter enforcement of Sharia law to the total destruction of the Nigerian state and its government.
Image via turner.comThe incident in the village of Garkin Fulani is the latest in a series of abductions for ransom in the area, according to an official with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, the umbrella union of all nomadic Fulani in the country.
yahoo.comThe MACBAN official, who is in Garkin Fulani, put the number of women kidnapped at as many as 40.
thewire.com
A member of a local vigilante group told Agence France-Presse that the suspected militants came into the village in broad daylight on Saturday, heavily armed and wearing military uniforms
"(They) took away 40 women, all of them young mothers," said the official, who asked not to be named for safety reasons.
washingtontimes.com
The women were then driven away, witnesses said, to an unknown location in the remote Borno state, along with three young men who had tried to stop the kidnapping.
A Borno state official confirmed the abduction but said only 20 women were abducted
"We are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction," the government official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the incident.
cnn.comThe Nigerian army has been accused of being ineffective in combating Boko Haram, forcing local people to set up vigilante groups to protect themselves
Nigeria's Major General Chris Olukolade addresses the media on updates regarding the situation of the abducted schoolgirls from the remote village of Chibok, at the National Briefing Center in Abuja, June 6, 2014
Image via thewire.comMike Omeri, the coordinator of the National Information Centre in charge of counterterrorism, was unaware of the latest reported kidnapping. "We have not received any information on the kidnap of any Fulani women," Omeri said.
cnn.comOmeri did, however, note a Nigerian military operation over the weekend that killed 50 suspected Boko Haram militants in Bita village, near Garkin Fulani. The soldiers recovered 30 Kalashnikovs, 36 grenades, 11 rocket-propelled grenades and seven automatic rifles, Omeri said. The Ministry of Defense also confirmed the operation.
Alhaji Tar, a member of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, a loosely formed civilian force tasked with providing security, also put the number at 20, along with three young men who were left to look after the village while the other men took their cattle to graze in the bush.
washingtontimes.com
Alhaji Tar, a member of one of these groups, said eye-witnesses had told them about the attack but that it was too late for anyone to intervene. “We tried to go after them when the news got to us about three hours later, but the vehicles we have could not go far, and the report came to us a little bit late,” he said.
The location of the women is still unknown and the kidnappers have not made contact with their families, Tar said. "This is not the first time women are being kidnapped in this area. It has happened several times," said the MACBAN official. "They come and herd young women into their vehicles and will only release them when 30 to 40 herds of cattle are paid as ransom."
cnn.comThe fear of deadly reprisals prevents the nomads from seeking military assistance, he said.
thewire.com