Nigeria: Abduction of 20 Christian children

The Boko Haram terrorist group has killed two people and abducted twenty children, including thirteen girls and seven boys, in a terrorist attack in the Nigerian state of Borno. Boko Haram Islamist militias have been carrying out terrorist activities in the area for more than a decade.

Thursday's attack on the christian village of Pimi near the city of Chibok, where Boko Haram jihadists abducted more than 200 female students eight years ago,  and sparked widespread international outcry.

In this attack, the assailants started shooting, looting shops and setting fire to houses and the village church.

 According to a resident, they attacked from the Sambisa forest near the village and took 20 kidnapped children into the forest in a truck they had seized from the village.

 A local Chibok government official confirmed the attack without giving details. A community leader provided similar details about the attack by jihadists and abducted children.

"This is the third attack in recent days and highlights the dangers facing the villages around Chibok by jihadists," a resident told AFP.

The kidnapping took place on Thursday as Nigeria faced a series of kidnapping attacks on schools in its northwestern states last year to demand ransom from local government by Islamist groups.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about 1,500 students were abducted last year in 20 mass kidnappings in schools across the region, and 16 students lost their lives.

Following Thursday's attack, residents said they returned to Pimi village to escape the attackers on Friday after spending the night in the forest.

The attackers reportedly destroyed part of the village, including a church, and burned 10 vehicles in the three-hour attack.

 Deadly jihadist attacks continue from nearby forested areas. So far, more than 40,000 people have been killed and more than 6 million displaced by jihadist attacks in northeastern Nigeria.

Borno state is home to a large Christian population, which has always been targeted by Boko Haram jihadist groups.

 

_{Source and Credit: VOA, AFP, Dailynews, persecution.org}