Boko Haram hostages were held in
atrocious conditions in the group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold, Nigeria’s
military said on Thursday after nearly 500 women and girls were released this
week.
“Whoever they may be, the important
thing is that Nigerians held captive under very severe and inhuman conditions
have been freed by our gallant troops,” defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said.
He told reporters in Abuja the army
would “comprehensively” clean out the forest, adding: “There is great hope for
the recovery of more hostages of the terrorists.”
Some 200 girls and 93 women were
freed from camps within the former colonial era game reserve on Tuesday while
the army said on Thursday that about 160 more hostages had been rescued.
The rescues raised hopes for the
liberation of 219 girls snatched from their school in the Borno state town of
Chibok on April 14 last year, which caused global outrage.
Nigeria’s military released a series
of photographs purporting to show some of the rescued women and children in an
undisclosed location, huddled on the ground watched over by soldiers.
One very young child pictured
appeared to be in a state of malnutrition.
Olukolade said air force jets had
been bombarding the forest, which he described as Boko Haram’s “last bastion”
in the northeast after being pushed out of captured towns.
He told a news conference that in
the last few days, more than 13 camps had been captured. Equipment such as
armoured personnel carriers, pick-up trucks and weapons were seized.
“Several” field commanders and foot
soldiers were killed, he added, without specifying numbers, while one soldier
was also killed and 10 wounded.
“The true identity of some of the
rescued women and girls are yet to be ascertained,” said Olukolade.
“At the moment, what is uppermost
and of priority is their movement to a conducive place where they are now
undergoing thorough profiling to verify their true identity, where they come
from, how they found themselves in the forest, etc.
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