Reports coming in states that up to 500 Nigerian kids
have been kidnapped from Damasak in Borno state Nigeria by terrorist
sect Boko Haram.
The BBC reports that the kids are all aged 11 and under and come from the recently recaptured Borno town.
One
trader in the region told Reuters that Boko Haram fighter had taken the
children along with them as they fled on coming soldiers.
Damasak was freed by Chadian and Niger forces earlier this month after several months of being under the control of the terrorists.
A regional force had been created to help fight the insurgents, this force comprises of Chad,Niger, Nigerian and Camerounian soldiers who helped put the terrorists on the defensive.
Boko Haram had in April 2014 attracted international scrutiny after they more than 200 girls from a boarding school in Chibok town in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno state.
Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau has come forward and said that the girls had already been married off.
Chadian soldiers had recently retaken the town of Damasak, Nigeria last week.
Boko Haram’s philosophy has been always against western education,alleging that it corrupts their religious beliefs
Damasak is a popular trading town in Borno state near the Niger Border and is just 200km from Capital, Maiduguri.
The town was overrun by militants last year.
One Damasak business man, Malam Ali whose brother is among the missing had earlier told BBC that young boys had been put in a madrassa, or Islamic school, by Boko Haram when they took over the town.
Following the recapture of the town, those boys had not been accounted for, he said.
The BBC’s Will Ross reports from Nigeria’s main city, Lagos, that the conflict has torn many families apart.
As towns have changed hands it has been impossible to work out how many people have been killed and how many are missing, he adds.
Last week, the decomposing bodies of more than 70 people were discovered under a bridge near Damasak the town.
It is widely believed that these were civilians killed by the militants, our correspondent says.
The BBC reports that the kids are all aged 11 and under and come from the recently recaptured Borno town.
Damasak was freed by Chadian and Niger forces earlier this month after several months of being under the control of the terrorists.
A regional force had been created to help fight the insurgents, this force comprises of Chad,Niger, Nigerian and Camerounian soldiers who helped put the terrorists on the defensive.
Boko Haram had in April 2014 attracted international scrutiny after they more than 200 girls from a boarding school in Chibok town in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno state.
Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau has come forward and said that the girls had already been married off.
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| Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau |
Boko Haram’s philosophy has been always against western education,alleging that it corrupts their religious beliefs
Damasak is a popular trading town in Borno state near the Niger Border and is just 200km from Capital, Maiduguri.
The town was overrun by militants last year.
One Damasak business man, Malam Ali whose brother is among the missing had earlier told BBC that young boys had been put in a madrassa, or Islamic school, by Boko Haram when they took over the town.
Following the recapture of the town, those boys had not been accounted for, he said.
The BBC’s Will Ross reports from Nigeria’s main city, Lagos, that the conflict has torn many families apart.
As towns have changed hands it has been impossible to work out how many people have been killed and how many are missing, he adds.
Last week, the decomposing bodies of more than 70 people were discovered under a bridge near Damasak the town.
It is widely believed that these were civilians killed by the militants, our correspondent says.
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