85 Boko Haram Hostages Rescued During Routine Stop In Chad

Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group in Nigeria, has been causing havoc in Africa through a wave of terrorism that has disgusted the entire world. The Boko Haram goal is to overthrow government in order to create an Islamic state.

Sources indicate that the Boko Haram terrorist group has already killed approximately 2,000 people and displaced almost 650,000 others, this year alone. It’s the highest the numbers have been since the insurgency began in 2009.

Sunday of last week, roughly 100 people were kidnapped by Boko Haram. They were taken during a raid of fishing communities in Nigeria’s extreme northeast. The terrorist group reportedly transported the prisoners across the border into Chad.

One of the fishing villages, Doron Baga, announced that the Boko Haram raid had left 28 people dead.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Maiduguri reported that 65 men and 20 women were rescued as a result of the routine checks done by Chadian soldiers. They suspect that over 30 people are still being held by the Islamic group.

A senior security official in Maiduguri spoke to AFP but preferred to remain anonymous:

“We received communication from our Chadian counterparts of the interception of a convoy of buses carrying 85 Nigerians believed to have been kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from Baga. The convoy being led by six Boko Haram gunmen was stopped on the Chadian part of the border along Lake Chad for routine checks and the huge number of people in the convoy raised suspicion”

When militants saw Chadian soldiers intercept the convoy, they sped off in motorboats.

Captured Boko Haram soldiers told conflicting stories about why they needed the hostages from the fishing villages and where they were supposed to be taking them.

Boko Haram has kidnapped many people before this, though, so it’s possible to approximate what the purpose of those taken was meant to be. The reasons Boko Haram has been kidnapping people is to use them as conscripts, slaves, and wives.

It’s a huge problem in Nigeria as well as neighboring country, Cameroon. Authorities in Cameroon state that hundreds of boys have been forced by Boko Haram to join their ranks, especially in the north of the country.

At the moment, the villagers that were rescued are being kept in Chad. Chadian authorities are trying to ensure their safety and there is no set time when they will be released back to Nigeria.