Yahoo Lifestyle Freed Nigerian Women Tell Of Horror Kidnapping
It's been nearly a year since 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped by notorious terror group Boko Haram - and while there's still no word on their whereabouts, their plight has been further highlighted by another group of recently freed Nigerian women.
Over the weekend, the Nigerian army managed to locate more than 260 hostages in northern Nigeria's Sambisa Forest and drive them to a refugee camp to be fed and treated for injuries.
Many hadn't eaten for days on end, while others had been tortured and raped. Those who attempted to flee were stoned to death according to Yahoo News.
"They didn't allow us to move an inch," said one of the freed women, Asabe Umaru. "If you needed the toilet, they followed you. We were kept in one place. We were under bondage. We thank God to be alive today. We thank the Nigerian army for saving our lives."
The women were rescued after soldiers passed by their camp and they shouted for help - a move that proved fatal for some.
"When we saw the soldiers we raised our hands and shouted for help," Umaru continued. "Boko Haram who were guarding us started stoning us so we would follow them to another hideout, but we refused because we were sure the soldiers would rescue us."
And indeed they did - but unfortunately, it was too late for many.
"Every day we witnessed the death of one of us and waited for our turn," said Umaru. "We were fed only ground dry maize in the afternoons. It was not good for human consumption. Many of us that were captured died in Sambisa Forest. Even after our rescue, about 10 died on our way to this place."
Although many of the kidnapped women had been married before they were kidnapped, they were told they had to marry Boko Haram members or be sold as slaves, leaving many at the mercy of a lifetime of torture.
The Nigerian schoolgirls who sparked the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag have still not been located.
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