Over 200 Chibok girls are still held captive by Boko Haram, and on Thursday the terrorist group overtook the girls' hometown of Chibok.
Boko Haram is known to target Christian women and girls. They abducted 276 Chibok girls back in April of this year and have killed hundreds of Nigerians since. BBC reports that the terrorist group has been attacking small villages around Chibok for the past month and invaded Chibok Thursday evening. The terrorist group is following a trend of claiming territories, rather than sporadic and short attacks.
“All of the people from the town that could, ran for their lives,” said a BBC reporter.
Chibok is a significant loss for Nigerians for its symbolism. Boko Haram is exercising its power by overtaking the city from which it abducted 276 girls, 219 of whom are still captive. Chibok garnered international attention back in April when it suffered at the hands of Boko Haram.
“Our girls are in the bush and they are killing the parents. We are talking about the lives of the parents and adults now. This thing has gone beyond anyone’s control,” Tsambido Hosea Abana, a community leader in Chibok, told The Guardian on Friday.
According to witness accounts, the number of insurgents attacking Chibok was too great to count. Despite the efforts of vigilantes and local forces to defend the territory, Chibok was seized. The fall of Chibok is an example of the inability to stop Boko Haram, which is a major criticism against the Nigerian army. Reportedly, the Nigerian security forces do very little to retaliate against Boko Haram.
“They are not doing well. How can they just run away when they hear ‘Allahu Akbar’? They are handing over weapons to these boys,” said Abana in reference to the Nigerian army.
In the past, many have criticized the lack of response by the Nigerian army, claiming that the security forces choose to stay away from the fights and remain inactive until Boko Haram leave their target.
The Human Rights Watch published a report back in October regarding the abductions of the Chibok girls as well as the general harm Boko Haram has been causing. “Several of those interviewed described seeing soldiers abandoning their posts either just prior to an attack or while the attack was in progress, a trend Human Rights Watch described in its 2012 report,” the report states.
Nigerian forces, however, have reclaimed Mubi, which was the largest territory under Boko Haram control. Over 200 locals, including hunters and vigilantes, drove out the insurgents on Thursday. Some witnesses claim to have seen Nigerian forces capture Boko Haram leader Amir during the struggle. Mubi is the first town that has been reclaimed from Boko Haram since August.
