Scores of girls have been abducted
in an attack on a school in north-east Nigeria, parents say.
Gunmen reportedly arrived at the
school in Chibok, Borno state, late last night, and ordered the hostel's
teenage residents on to lorries.
Parents told the BBC's Hausa service
that at least 200 girls had been abducted. The attackers are thought to be from
the Islamist group, Boko Haram.
On Monday, bombings blamed on the
group killed more than 70 people in Abuja.
Boko Haram has been waging an armed
campaign for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
The attack on the hostel in Chibok
was confirmed by police, although they had no confirmation of the abductions.
Residents in the area reported
hearing gunshots followed by explosions last night, said BBC reporter Mohammed
Kabir Mohammed in Abuja.
A student, who did not wish to be
named, told the BBC that she had escaped after seeing her classmates jumping
out of the back of a lorry.
Nigerian media reported that two
members of the security forces had been killed, and several properties burnt
down in the attack on the school.
Boko Haram emerged as a critic of
Western-style education, and its militants frequently target schools and
educational institutions.
This year, the group's fighters have
killed more than 1,500 civilians in three states in north-east Nigeria.
The government recently said that
Boko Haram's activities were confined to that part of the country.
However, Monday's bombings in Abuja
prompted renewed fears that the militants were extending their campaign to the
capital.
Culled for BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment