Chibok girls: Kidnapped schoolgirl rescued in Nigeria

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One of the “Chibok girls” abducted by Islamist group Boko Haram in 2014 has been rescued, Nigeria’s military says.

The girl is in “the safe custody of troops and receiving medical attention”, it said in a statement.

More than 270 girls were kidnapped by the group from a school in the north-eastern town of Chibok.

The military say that the girl was rescued in Pulka in northern Borno state, which is more than 160km (100 miles) from the town.

They say she was discovered with a 14-year-old girl who was with a child but neither was identified as being part of the Chibok group.

More than 100 of the 276 kidnapped schoolgirls are still being held by Boko Haram and their whereabouts is unknown.

 

In September, a group of more than 100 were reunited with their families at a party in the capital Abuja.

Most of the group were released in May as part of a controversial prisoner swap deal with the Nigerian government that saw five Boko Haram commanders released.

The girls spent months in government custody, undergoing psycho-social therapy after their traumatic experience at the hands of the Islamist militants.

But the government says they are “fully rehabilitated” and has promised to sponsor their further education.

 

A separate group of 21 girls were freed in October 2016 after negotiations with Boko Haram.

More than 50 managed to escape on the day they were captured, mostly by jumping off lorries and running off into the bushes.

After the girls were abducted from their school in April 2014, a massive global awareness campaign began, using the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Boko Haram has been fighting a long insurgency in its quest for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The conflict is estimated to have killed tens of thousands of people.

The Chibok girls represent a fraction of the women captured by the militant group, which has kidnapped thousands during its eight-year insurgency in northern Nigeria.

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