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Nigerian militants kidnap women

June 10, 2014

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have kidnapped at least 20 girls and women from a northwest Nigerian town, officials have said. The incident occurred near the village where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April.

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Gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped the girls and women at a village in Borno state, officials told news agencies on Tuesday. There were conflicting reports about exactly how many people were taken - one local leader put the number at 40.

The kidnappings, which took place over the weekend, were near Chibok, where more than 200 schoolgirls were captured by Boko Haram militants on April 14.

Three villagers who tried to stop the latest kidnappings were also abducted.

There was no immediate word on where the women were taken or communication with their abductors.

Cattle ransom

A local official from the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said up to 40 mothers had been taken and put into vehicles, before being driven to an unknown location. MACBAN is the umbrella organization for the nomadic Fulani cattle herders of Nigeria.

Similar kidnappings have occurred in the region before, but locals often do not speak up over fear of reprisals, the official said.

"This is not the first time women are being kidnapped in this area and only released when we pay cattle ransom to the kidnappers. It has happened several times," said the official. "They come and go door-to-door bringing women outside and select young women and take them away in their vehicles and demand between 30 and 40 cows for their release."

Militant fight

Boko Haram has stepped up its military campaign since the schoolgirls were abducted last April, particularly in Borno. Last week, a militant raid on at least four villages left hundreds of people feared dead.

A suburban bus station in the capital Abuja was hit by bombings in April and May that killed nearly a total of 100 people. A bombing at a busy market in the central city of Jos on May 20 left at least 118 people dead.

Police on Tuesday shut down three major markets in Abuja, citing intelligence that they were to be targets for a Boko Haram attack. The military said on Monday it had prevented "massive" raids on villages in Borno and Adamawa last weekend.

dr/hc (AFP, dpa)