Four more girls escape Boko Haram

Four more girls kidnapped by the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation Boko Haram have escaped from the group, but another 219 remain missing.

Boko Haram fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the remote north eastern town of Chibok in Borno state on April 14, Reuters reports.

The girls were taking exams at the time when Islamic extremist gunman surrounded it, loading them into trucks before carting them off.

Shortly afterwards 53 managed to escape according to authorities in Borno state, the epicentre of Boko Haram's insurgency.

Education commissioner Musa Inuwa told Reuters the most recent escapees have since been reunited with their parents, but refused to detail how they managed to escape and when.

The girls' abduction shone an international spotlight on the militants, with the United Nations imposing sanctions on Boko Haram and blacklisting it as an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation.

The terrorist designation, which has been welcomed by the United States, subjects Boko Haram to an arms embargo and asset freeze, though it remains unclear what practical impact it will have.

The group, which demands the creation of an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria, has recently escalated its campaign of attacks that have left thousands dead since 2009.

Source: Reuters

Author: Natasha Lee, Approving editor: Jack Hawke