The Nigerian army says that it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women in the Sambisa Forest, but it could not confirm if any of those freed are the schoolgirls kidnapped a year ago.
The army announced the rescue on Twitter on Tuesday and said it is now screening and profiling the girls and women.
According to Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's military spokesperson who spoke to CNN a few minutes ago, the individuals rescued are being screened and it's only after this screening that there would be confirmation if the Chibok girls are amongst the ones rescued.
More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in April 2014. The militants took the schoolgirls in trucks into the Sambisa Forest and the girls have been missing since. The plight of the schoolgirls has garnered international attention and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
The Nigerian army announced two weeks ago that it is going into Sambisa Forest, which is a center for the Boko Haram fighters.
FLASH: Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls & 93 women from #Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the #ChibokGirls are in this group /1
— DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA (@DefenceInfoNG) April 28, 2015
Troops captured and destroyed 3 terrorists camps including the notorious Tokumbere camp in the #Sambisa Forest Operation /2
— DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA (@DefenceInfoNG) April 28, 2015
#Sambisa Forest: The freed persons are now being screened and profiled. We will bring you details later. /3
#NeverAgain
— DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA (@DefenceInfoNG) April 28, 2015
Credit:CNN
No comments:
Post a Comment