The Nigerian army has handed over to local authorities at least 277 women and children rescued in the last month by jihadist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
"We are handing over a total of 277 women and children. These are people we encountered during our operations and obviously they were being held against their will," said Major General Waidi Shuaibu - commander of operation 'Hadi Kai' on Thursday. ', in the city of Maiduguri -, before the authorities of the Nigerian state of Borno.
"Upon arriving at the barracks, they underwent preliminary medical examinations to check their health status and received food," he added.
The group of people rescued consisted of 128 women and 149 children.
A source from the Nigerian army, who requested anonymity, confirmed to the EFE news agency that rescues took place last month in several parts of Borno state, where the military also "neutralized" "dozens of terrorists".
"We will continue to fight until the north (of Nigeria) is free of terrorists," the source said.
Northeast Nigeria has been the target of attacks by Boko Haram since 2009, but the violence worsened in 2016 with the emergence of its splinter group, ISWAP.
The two groups seek to impose an Islamic state in Nigeria, a country with a Muslim majority in the north and a predominantly Christian country in the south.
Boko Haram and ISWAP have killed more than 35,000 people and left around 2.7 million internally displaced, mainly in Nigeria, but also in neighboring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger, according to government and United Nations data. United.
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