Boko Haram kidnaps more than 400 women and children

Boko Haram militants have kidnapped more than 400 women and children from the northern Nigerian town of Damasak that was freed this month by troops from Niger and Chad, Reuters quoted residents as saying on Tuesday.

“They (insurgents) took 506 young women and children (in Damasak). They killed about 50 of them before leaving. We don’t know if they killed others after leaving, but they took the rest with them,” a trader called Souleymane Ali told Reuters in the town.

Ali said his wife and three of his daughters were among those seized. “Two of them were supposed to get married this year. (Boko Haram) said ‘They are slaves so we’re taking them because they belong to us,’” he said.

"We’ve seen the worst possible things you can imagine, so after a certain point there was no point in trying to leave," he said. "They killed all our friends, our family members, so we just submitted ourselves to God."

Mohamed Ousmane, another trader, said the militants took his two wives and three of their children.

Niger troops distributed food on Tuesday to a handful of residents who remained in Damasak. A few others returned to check their houses but left for the bush again.

AFRICAN JOINT FORCE ADVANCING, ELECTION ON SATURDAY

Nigeria’s Punch News said last week that troops of the African joint force found the bodies of at least 70 people in an apparent execution site under a bridge leading out of Damasak, where the streets remained strewn with debris and burnt-out cars after the fighting. Many of the bodies were in a state indicating that the killings took place many days ago.

A girl drinks water as women queue for blankets and food given out by Nigerien soldiers in Damasak, March 24. / Reuters.

Damasak was seized by the Islamist group in November. Most of the residents had fled the town leaving behind the old and the sick. The recapture of Damasak follows a regional offensive launched this year with Chad, Niger and Cameroon joining hands with Nigeria. 

They have driven militants out of a string of towns in simultaneous offensives over the past month. Nigeria says all but 3 of the 20 local government areas occupied at the beginning of the year have been freed.

Nigeria's rearranged election is now due to take place on Saturday.