International
Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have reportedly kidnapped 20 women from a nomadic settlement in northeast Nigeria near the town of Chibok, where the rebels abducted more than 300 schoolgirls on April 15.
Alhaji Tar, a member of one of the vigilante groups set up to resist Boko Haram's attacks, said the men arrived at noon Thursday in the Garkin Fulani settlement and forced the women to enter their vehicles at gunpoint. He said they drove away to an unknown location in the remote stretch of Borno state.
Tar said the group also took three young men who tried to stop the kidnapping.
"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.
In another incident, Nigeria’s defense ministry said Monday that troops prevented raids by Boko Haram this weekend on villages in Borno and neighboring Adamawa state. Soldiers killed more than 50 members of the group on Saturday night as they were on their way to attack communities, defense spokesman Chris Oluklade said in an emailed statement.
The Nigerian military has come under increasing criticism from Nigerians who say they're not protected by the security forces, left to fend off attacks by Boko Haram on their own.
Earlier this month, ten generals and five other senior military officers were found guilty of providing arms and information to Boko Haram, several Nigerian newspapers reported. The military has denied the accusations.
Boko Haram, which wants to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, has been taking over villages in the northeast, killing and terrorizing civilians and political leaders. Thousands of people have been killed in the group’s five-year-old insurgency — more than 2,000 this year.
Boko Haram abducted more than 300 girls from the Chibok Government Girls School on April 15, according to police, raising international condemnation and pledges of support. Chibok community leader Pogu Bitrus said 57 girls have so far escaped, leaving an estimated 272 still held captive.
The United States in May deployed 80 military personnel to Chad and flew manned missions over Nigeria to aid in the search for the girls and their abductors.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
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