Boko Haram has abducted more women despite claims of a Nigeria cease-fire http://t.co/EUhkI5yKSC pic.twitter.com/uuqI8ZeEvz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 23, 2014
In the latest kidnapping, residents told the bishop that scores of gunmen on motorcycles stormed their village, Garta, on Saturday. Boko Haram has operated with near impunity for months in the remote mountainous region, with occasional reprisals from Nigeria’s military.
The gunmen torched houses in the village, slit the throats of four men and went house-to-house searching for young women, eventually taking away around 60, according to the bishop and local news reports.
“Those who were abducted are from my hometown,” Bishop Mamza said by phone Thursday evening. “Of course it is credible. This is actually what is happening on a daily basis, only it is not reported.” The bishop said most of those abducted by the Islamists were Christians.