Just over 60 women and girls who were being held captive by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria have reportedly escaped their captors. The women were among the over 200 who were abducted back in April.
A local vigilante, Abbas Gava, told the AFP that 63 women and girls escaped and were home by Friday. While this was not confirmed by the Nigerian government, an anonymous security source told the AFP that the escape did happen.
Gava is a senior official among a group of vigilantes from Borneo state, where the girls were abducted from back in April. He told the AFP that they managed to escape while their captors carried “out an operation.”
The news does follow a clash between the army and Boko Haram in the town of Damboa. During the attack, six soldiers and 53 Boko Haram members died, the army said. According to the Associated Press, the extremists attacked in response to an air raid that caused heavy casualties.