Nigerien soldiers hold up a Boko Haram flag
that they had seized in the recently retaken
town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015.
MAIDUGURI: Dozens of Nigerian women who
were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters were
reportedly slaughtered by their "husbands" before a battle
with troops in the northeast town of Bama, multiple
witnesses said on Thurday. Five witnesses who
recounted the massacres said the Islamist militants feared
they would be killed by advancing soldiers or separated
from their wives when they fled the town.
They killed the women to prevent them from subsequently
marrying soldiers or other so-called non-believers, they
added. "The terrorists said they will not allow their
wives to be married to infidels," said Sharifatu Bakura,
39, a mother of three.
Nigeria's military along with forces from neighbouring
Cameroon, Chad and Niger have claimed huge victories
over the insurgents in recent weeks but defenceless
civilians still face serious threats. According to Bakura's
account, Boko Haram fighters received word of a
military assault on Bama.
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