Monday, April 21, 2014

More girls escape from kidnappers

Seven of the 85 Nigerian schoolgirls still missing after being abducted last week have escaped, the local state governor says.

Another girl had run home on the day of the attack, meaning 77 are still missing, said Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima.

About 130 girls were seized from their school hostel by gunmen last Monday.

Islamist group Boko Haram is suspected to be behind the kidnapping but has not issued any statement.

Some 1,500 people are believed to have been killed in attacks blamed on Boko Haram this year alone.

The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden", is fighting to establish Islamic law in Nigeria. It often targets educational establishments.

Mr Shettima did not give details of how the girls had escaped, for security reasons.

The headmistress of the school in the town of Chibok on Saturday called on the kidnappers to "have mercy on the students".

It is thought that the militants took the girls to forested areas near the Cameroonian border.

Parents and vigilante group have gone there to help search for the teenage girls.

Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in north-east Nigeria have been under emergency rule since last May.

BBC

Related story: Boko Haram abduct 100 schoolgirls from boarding school in North Eastern Nigeria

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