MAIDUGURI, July 7 - More than 60 women and girls abducted last month by suspected Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria have escaped their captors, sources said Sunday, but more than 200 schoolgirls are still being held by the Islamists. Local vigilante Abbas Gava said he had "received an alert from my colleagues ... that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home" late Friday. A high-level security source in the Borno state capital Maiduguri, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed the escape. Gava, a senior official of the local vigilantes in Borno who are working closely with security officials, told journalists the women escaped when their captors went out to fight. "They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation," he said. Clashes took place between the Islamists and the army late Friday after an attack by the insurgents in the town of Damboa, where 53 of them and six soldiers were killed, the army had said. The rebels attacked barracks and a police station while most of the troops were out on patrol in surrounding villages. Spokesmen for the armed forces or the government could not be reached Sunday for comment on the latest developments in the kidnapping cases.More than 200 still missing Activists of the Bring Back Our Girls movement meanwhile tried to march on the presidential palace in Abuja Sunday to pressure the government over the fate of more than 200 girls kidnapped in Chibok, in Borno, on April 14, but were asked by security forces to turn back. "It's 83 days today that the girls have been abducted," activist Aisha Yesufu told the press. "We have been coming out for 68 days and nobody has really listened to us," Yesufu told reporters after the march. That is why the group "decided that we should just take the protest back to the president so that he will know that we are still out there after the 68 days that we have been coming out daily". Of the 276 girls seized in April, 57 have escaped while 219 are still missing. Villagers from the town where Boko Haram abducted the girls appealed to the United Nations on Friday to intervene because of the worsening violence in their region. The community claimed militants were running amok in their area, seemingly with impunity. A state of emergency imposed in Borno and neighbouring Yobe and Adamawa in May last year forced its fighters out of urban centres. But that has come at the expense of protecting people in the countryside, where attacks have increased dramatically, almost on a daily basis, analysts say. Amnesty International claimed in May that military commanders in Borno had advance warning of the Chibok abduction but could not muster enough troops to send. The insurgents' kidnap of the schoolgirls in April provoked international outrage and drew unprecedented global attention to the Islamist uprising. Security experts say the overstretched and under-resourced military is incapable of waging an effective counterinsurgency against the Boko Haram militants, who have killed thousands in their five-year campaign for an independent Islamic state in the north.
More
Rhythm of trackside life in Ho Chi Minh City
In spite of narrow roads, the village seldom suffers traffic jams and ear-piercing vehicle horns, said some locals
Read more
Voter selects Donald Trump but voting machine highlights Kamala Harris in viral video
The Laurel County clerk’s office then halted the machine’s operation and called for an investigation by the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General
5 days agoAustralia proposes ban on social media for those under 16
There will be no exemptions for users who have parental consent
1 day agoKamala Harris concedes election to Trump but vows to fight on
Harris encouraged her supporters, especially young people, not to give up even in their disappointment
1 day agoVietnam-US relations remain strong regardless of US presidential election outcome: ambassador
Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party always back the Vietnam-U.S. relations
4 hours agoOttawa to shut TikTok's Canada offices, says app can still be used
Canada banned TikTok from all government devices last year and launched a security review of the application
22 hours agoHighlights
Typhoon Yinxing enters East Vietnam Sea
It could downgrade into a tropical depression after making landfall in central Vietnam
Latest news
Typhoon Yinxing enters East Vietnam Sea
It could downgrade into a tropical depression after making landfall in central Vietnam
70 contestants arrive in Ho Chi Minh City for Mr. World 2024
Organizers aim to use the event to promote Vietnam’s tourism and culinary heritage to a global audience
Vietnam accelerates on path to sustainable transportation
The government is actively working to develop a balanced strategy for various transportation modes
Vietnam-US relations remain strong regardless of US presidential election outcome: ambassador
Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party always back the Vietnam-U.S. relations
Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – November 8
Good morning from Vietnam!
Chinese aerospace manufacturer wishes to operate narrow-body aircraft in Vietnam’s airspace
The firm has been working with Vietnamese airline Vietjet Air to fly planes for short-haul flights in Vietnam in late 2024
Police capture 5-member gang for stealing over 100 dogs in north-central Vietnam
The gang stole from five to seven dogs weighing a total of some 50 kilograms per night
Powerful storm Yinxing could enter East Vietnam Sea tomorrow
The storm is likely to move westward at a maximum speed of 20 kph on Friday
Vietnam’s 1st golf festival to take place in Nha Trang this month
The three-day event will feature a vibrant lineup of activities, promising to bring boundless excitement to golfers and golf fans
2024 'virtually certain' to be hottest year on record: EU monitor
This year is 'virtually certain' to be the hottest in recorded history with warming above 1.5C, EU climate monitor Copernicus said Thursday, days before nations are due to gather for crunch UN climate talks