Nigerian military rescues 350 hostages held captive by Boko Haram

Women and children who were held captive by islamic extremists, and rescued by the Nigerian army, are seen upon arrival in Maiduguri, Nigeria on Monday (PHOTO: AP Photo/Jossy Olatunji/military.com)

Originally published in Worthy News

In a rare victory against Islamic terrorists in northern Nigeria, the country’s military forces on Tuesday were able to rescue 350 hostages taken captive by the Boko Haram jihadist organisation over a period of years, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Nigeria has been plagued by jihadist terror organisations including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and radicalised Fulani herdsmen who have entrenched themselves across swathes of the northern part of the country since 2009. These groups use mass murder (in the tens of thousands), torture, rape, displacement, and kidnapping as weapons to establish an Islamic caliphate and destroy communities that do not conform to their ideology.

- Advertisement -

The 209 children, 135 women, and six men rescued on Tuesday were found at a Boko Haram stronghold in Sambisa Forest, Borno state. Many of them had been held captive for years, ICC reports.

“I always wanted to escape but couldn’t because of the children,” survivor Hajara Umara told the Associated Press. “If they caught you trying to escape, they would torture you and imprison you indefinitely.”

Notably, the majority of those rescued this week are children. Boko Haram has kidnapped at least 1 400 students from Nigerian schools since it first abduced 276 schoolgirls from the predominantly Christian village of Chibok in Borno state, in 2014.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:

>> Donate  >> Become a Super Subscriber

VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100

COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.

One Comment

  1. Mike Morrison

    But Leia is still missing. Held because she would not convert to Islam


Click banner for more info