ICC Note: The Nigerian Army has freed nearly 1,000 people from Boko Haram captivity. The operation by the military was started on April 28 led to the deaths of over 50 terrorists.
05/08/2018 Nigeria (CNN) – The 1,000 hostages reported freed by the NIgerian army on Monday were rescued after a week-long battle with Boko Haram in which 50 militants were killed, an army spokesman told CNN.
The operation, which began April 28, is still going on, Nigerian military spokesman Texas Chukwu told CNN.
Those rescued are mainly women and children, as well as some young men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters, Chukwu said in a statement. The captives were rescued in Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, the army said. No further details were given about their identity.
“Those rescued are receiving treatment at a military facility,” the statement said.
The rescue mission follows the release of more than 100 schoolgirls kidnapped in March by Boko Haram from Dapchi, a town in Nigeria’s Yobe State.
The operation, which was conducted in conjunction with Cameroonian and Nigerian troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force, rescued the hostages from Malamkari, Amchaka, Walasa and Gora villages of the Bama Local Government Area.
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