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Boko Haram: Nigerian troops rescue 54 women and children held captive by terror group

Extremist fighters fled before troops arrived

Monday 13 May 2019 09:49 EDT
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A girl cooks in front of her house at Malkohi refugee camp in Jimeta, Adamawa State, Nigeria on February 19, 2019.
A girl cooks in front of her house at Malkohi refugee camp in Jimeta, Adamawa State, Nigeria on February 19, 2019. (LUIS TATO/AFP/Getty Images)

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The Nigerian army has rescued 54 women and children held captive by extremist group Boko Haram.

Troops rescued the captives during an operation over the weekend in Borno State, according to a statement by a military spokesman.

He said the rescued people consist of 29 women and 25 children.

Boko Haram fighters had fled the villages before the troops arrived, the spokesman said.

Boko Haram frequently abducts women and children. The jihadist group began its insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria and now has expanded its reach to the neighbouring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

In April 2014, 276 girls were abducted from the government secondary school in Chibok. More than 100 of them are still missing five years later.

Associated Press

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