A bit of good news has come out of Nigeria after nearly 300 girls and women were rescued from Boko Haram camps on Tuesday. While news of the rescue is giving people across the country a little more confidence in Nigerian forces, reports have confirmed that these women are not the same girls that were abducted from their school dormitories last year sparking a national movement bolstering the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
While the Chibok girls are still missing, the army operation did manage to bring 200 girls and more than 90 women to safety after the military swept through the Sambisa Forest.
“The troops rescued 200 abducted girls and 93 women,” Colonel Sani Usman told Reuters in a text message.
He also revealed that the Nigerian army has managed to clear out multiple Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa forest.
“So far, they have destroyed and cleared Sassa, Tokumbere and two other camps in the general area of Alafa, all within the Sambisa forest,” he added.
The girls will be screened so officials can gather more information about the nature of their captivity and under what circumstances they were taken.
With some of the girls having visible injuries and the troubling history of the militant group being well-known, many are anticipating that the screenings will force the girls and women to revisit emotionally devastating memories.
It isn’t clear how long this group has been in captivity by Boko Haram or if they were married off to the militants.
What is apparent, according to Usman, is that they are more than excited to finally have their freedom back.
“Now they are excited about their freedom,” he said.
This victory is a part of a recent move by Nigerian soldiers, backed by war planes, to win back some territory from Boko Haram, Reuters reported.
According to the Nigerian military, Boko Haram is now hemmed in the Sambisa Forest although attacks have still plagued neighborhoods outside of the forest and on an island in Lake Chad.
