B’Haram kidnaps 185 women, children in Borno

More than 185 women and children have been kidnapped in Gumsuri, Borno state, by suspected Boko Haram members.

According to CNN, the insurgents kidnapped at least 185 women and children, and killed 32 people in the raid, which happened on Sunday but only filtered out on Thursday due to lack of communication.

“They gathered the women and children and took them away in trucks after burning most of the village with petrol bombs,” a local government official was quoted as saying.

The militants reportedly arrived in the village from two directions, overwhelming local vigilantes who, in the past, collaborated with hunters and Nigerian soldiers to fend off similar attacks.

‎”They destroyed almost half the village and took away 185 women, girls and boys,” said Gumsuri resident Umar Ari, who trekked for four days to escape to Maiduguri, capital of the state.

Modu Kalli, another resident, said militants burnt houses after pouring gasoline on them and spraying the village with sophisticated weaponsand poured canisters of gasoline on houses before setting them on fire.

“We lost everything in the attack,” he said.

“I escaped with nothing, save the clothes I have on me.”

Hundreds Gumsuri residents continue to arrive in Maiduguri, which has been struggling to accommodate thousands of residents fleeing towns and villages overrun by Boko Haram.