The Nigerian army has said that nearly 300 women and girls have been rescued after a successful offensive against Boko Haram.
Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said: “Troops have this afternoon captured and destroyed three camps of terrorists inside the Sambisa forest and rescued 200 girls and 93 women.”
The Sambisa forest is a Boko Haram stronghold. It is understood that the hostages are not the 200 girls kidnapped from a school in Chibok last year.
Mass graves have also been found in areas where Boko Haram has been retreating, the news agency Fides reported.
Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri told Aid to the Church in Need: “Extremists continue to act because the military have not been able to hit all their strongholds.”
He expressed hope that the advance of the military marked “the beginning of the end of Boko Haram”.
Meanwhile, nothing is yet known about the fate of the Chibok girls kidnapped more than a year ago.
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos said earlier this month: “It is a deep pain for the families whose daughters disappeared suddenly without a trace. I can imagine their anguish. But they are not alone, because the whole community and Nigerian families are with them.”
Amnesty International says at least 2,000 women and girls have been kidnapped since the beginning of 2014.
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