BY AYO OLOWO
The military in Nigeria says it has rescued 178 people held by the Boko Haram group in Nigeria’s Borno state in raids that destroyed several camps in the country’s northeast.
Colonel Tukur Gusau who is the Army’s spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday that 101 of the those freed were children, 67 were women and 10 were men.
He said that a Boko Haram commander had also been captured in the raids on camps around the town of Bama, about 70km southeast of the state capital Maiduguri.
Airforce helped ground troops repel an attack by Boko Haram around the village of Bitta on the southern edge of the Sambisa forest reserve, a stronghold of the group.
Vow to crush group
Witnesses said Boko Haram fighters killed 13 people in an attack on Malari village.
Moha Saleh, a local farmer, told AFP news agency on Sunday that 27 people were also injured in the attack, which began when the armed group stormed the village at around 1am local time.
“They also set many houses ablaze after accusing us of telling soldiers their whereabouts,” he reportedly said.
A local community vigilante, Goni Musi, confirmed the death toll.
Aljazeera
