According to United Nations (UN) estimates, more than 200 people were kidnapped in Nigeria last week. The UN announced on Wednesday that these are internally displaced persons, i.e. people who are fleeing within the country.
An exact number of those abducted is not known. The mass kidnapping took place on February 29 in Borno State. The victims, mostly women and children, were kidnapped when they ventured outside the camp for internally displaced persons in search of firewood, the UN statement said.
“Although an unspecified number of elderly women and children under the age of 10 have reportedly been released, many internally displaced persons remain missing,” said the UN Coordinator for Nigeria.
350,000 killed by terrorist militia Boko Haram
The jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram has been active in northeastern Nigeria for more than a decade and the violence has left more than 350,000 dead and displaced three million people. Murders, kidnappings, forced recruitment and sexual and gender-based violence continue to occur. According to the United Nations, women and children are disproportionately affected.
The mass kidnapping of people, sometimes from schools and camps for internally displaced persons, is part of Boko Haram’s violent crackdown to impose strict Islamic rule in Nigeria. In April 2014, Boko Haram caused global horror with the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls. Ten years after the incident, more than a hundred girls are still missing.
Source: Krone
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