In a major operation, the Nigerian military freed 350 hostages, mostly women and children, who had been held captive for months or years by Boko Haram extremists in the northeastern Borno state.
The hostages were found in the Sambisa Forest, a longtime Boko Haram stronghold, during a days-long military operation, according to Major General Ken Chigbu, a senior Nigerian army officer. He presented the rescued individuals to authorities in Maiduguri on Monday.
The group comprised 209 children, 135 women, and six men. Many appeared exhausted and bore signs of prolonged hardship. Some of the women were accompanied by young children, believed to be born during captivity from forced marriages, a tactic Boko Haram has employed against female hostages.
One rescued woman, Hajara Umara, spoke of the fear that kept them captive. “The thought of escape was always there, but impossible with the children,” she said. “Escape attempts were met with torture and indefinite imprisonment.”
The military operation targeted Boko Haram hideouts within the Sambisa Forest, a former wildlife reserve that has become a launchpad for attacks by the group and its splinter factions. The operation reportedly resulted in the deaths of some extremists and the destruction of their makeshift camps.
The freed hostages were transported to the Borno state government house, where they will receive care and assistance as they prepare to return home.
Boko Haram, a violent extremist group seeking to establish Islamic rule in Nigeria, has been responsible for widespread terror since its insurgency began in 2009. The United Nations estimates the conflict has displaced over 2 million people and claimed at least 35,000 lives. The group’s kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014 drew international condemnation. While school abductions have become less frequent, kidnappings for ransom remain a serious threat in Nigeria’s restive northwest and central regions.
