ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A girl who was seized from her school along with hundreds others during a raid by extremists ten years ago in northeastern Nigeria has been rescued together with her three children, the Nigerian army said Thursday.
Lydia Simon, who is five months pregnant, was rescued by Nigerian troops in the Gwoza council area of Borno state, where the 15-year insurgency by Islamic extremists is concentrated, according to a statement from the army.
The statement was accompanied by a picture of Simon and her children, who appear to be aged between 2 and 4. She is yet to be reunited with her family.
Simon was among 276 girls seized from their school in Nigeria’s Chibok village in April 2014 at the height of the extremist violence in the region. About 82 of them are still in captivity.
The first of a series of mass school kidnappings in the West African nation, the Chibok abduction shocked the world and triggered a global social media campaign tagged #BringBackOurGirls.
Ministry of Health 'taking the time to get it right' on puberty blockers
War a real threat and Europe not ready, warns Poland's PM
Hundreds of bulbs, entire rose bushes stolen from Christchurch park
Armenian victims group ask International Criminal Court to investigate genocide claim
Second man accused of Ellerslie murder named
Human Rights Commission advises caution over boot camps
Mirror suits and serenades: The allure of Chris Isaak
UN OKs shipment of vaccine storage equipment to North Korea — Radio Free Asia
UN mission probing Islamic State crimes forced to shut in Iraq
Man granted parole for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of 2 Dartmouth College professors
Kate's cancer diagnosis updates: Reactions from around the world