Yahoo Lifestyle More Than 60 Women And Girls Escape Boko Haram In Nigeria
It’s now been 83 days since more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in Nigeria by terrorist organisation Boko Haram.
While their rescue is shrouded in doubt, BBC is reporting that a separate group of women and children have escaped Boko Haram after being abducted last month near the town of Damboa.
According to sources, the women managed to flee when militants left to attack a military base on Friday.
"They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation," Abbas Gava, a senior official of the local vigilantes, told journalists. “I received an alert from my colleagues...that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home."
While the news is yet to be confirmed, it’s the first spark of hope for the missing 200 schoolgirls still missing in Nigeria.
"It's 83 days today that the girls have been abducted," activist Aisha Yesufu told the press. "We have been coming out for 68 days and nobody has really listened to us."
While the schoolgirls have been located, their rescue mission is fraught with obstacles.
According to the country’s defense chief, the Nigerian military is currently discussing how they can approach the group without harming the girls in the process.
"The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you," Air Marshal Alex Badeh was quoted as saying.
"But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can't kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back."
While it’s unknown exactly how the defense force will carry out their rescue mission, it’s clear all options are being weighed in an effort to save as many lives as possible.
"Nobody should come and say the Nigerian military does not know what it is doing. We know what we are doing," said Badeh.
But Nigeria’s military and government have faced outrage over their failure to rescue the girls seized by Boko Haram militants from a remote northeastern school six weeks ago.
The country finally accepted help from the United States, Britain, France and China after President Goodluck Jonathon caved to international pressure. Surveillance drones are now scanning the Sambisa forest where the girls were last sighted, and troops are amassing in neighbouring Chad.
It’s a race against time to rescue the missing girls, with reports a number have already perished and more have been sold across the border as child brides.
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