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A resident of Bale village in the neighborhood of Sambisa Forest told us that there was increased deployment of troops in the area some days ago and heavy gunshots were heard coming from inside the forest.
Confirming the development to us yesterday on phone, director of defence information Major General Chris Olukolade said, “Yes, you got your gist right; we are closing in on the insurgents. We are doing everything within our powers to rescue the abducted girls and return them to their parents safely. As you know, what makes the operation very delicate is the safety of the girls; we want them rescued safely. I can confirm to you that we are not leaving anything to chance to rescue the innocent schoolgirls. I just returned from the area (Chibok) this afternoon.”
The heavy deployment of the military inside the forest has also made the insurgents continuously change location with the abducted girls.
A farmer in the village of Izge told us that he saw the abducted girls being moved around by the insurgents in trucks in the forest. He also said that it was the second time the girls were being moved in different locations.
Meanwhile, one of the girls who escaped from the insurgents recently said their escape became possible when they were allowed to go to a nearby river to fetch water after the insurgents had set up camp for the night.
She said when they told them to go to the river and fetch water for cooking, they decided to escape into the bush, not knowing the direction of home. She added that not all the girls that escaped made it safely back to town as some were recaptured, while some were still roaming in the bush.
A resident of one village close to the route taken by the insurgents into the Sambisa Forest said the insurgents had been coming to their village in search of some of the girls that had escaped. He said the insurgents had warned them that anyone who assisted the girls would be killed if they didn’t disclose where they had taken the girls to.
Courtesy Leadership
