This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29782397

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Suspected Boko Haram militants 'kidnap 30 Nigerian children' Nigeria's Boko Haram 'sends girls to front line'
(about 7 hours later)
Suspected Boko Haram militants have kidnapped about 30 children in north-eastern Nigeria despite government claims of a truce, a local leader says. Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has forced abducted women and girls to go to the front line to help fight the military, a new report says.
At least 17 people were killed when the village of Mafa in Borno state came under attack on Thursday, he adds. The group has taken more than 500 women and girls hostage since it began its insurgency in 2009, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report adds.
The Nigerian authorities have attributed the attack to bandits. Suspected militants seized about 30 children on Thursday, despite government claims of a truce.
The group has taken more than 500 women and girls hostage since it began its bloody insurgency in 2009, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. Boko Haram has declared a caliphate in areas it controls in the north-east.
HRW says there have been serious failings in the way the Nigerian authorities have investigated the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok six months ago. The group had intensified abductions since May 2013, when Nigeria's government imposed a state of emergency in the three states where Boko Haram was most active - Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, HRW said.
Its report includes detailed testimonies from several girls who managed to escape. HRW says the police have shown little interest in documenting their evidence, and have treated the case as a "low level crime". 'Shaking with horror'
The attack on Mafa, some 50 km (30 miles) east of the city of Maiduguri marks the latest in a series of assaults by Boko Haram militants, despite the government's declaration of a ceasefire earlier this month. The New-York based group estimates that more than 4,000 civilians have been killed in more than 192 attacks since May 2013 in the north-eastern and in the capital, Abuja.
The Nigerian government says it hopes the truce will pave the way for the release of those seized in Chibok. At least 2,053 civilians were killed by Boko Haram in the first half of 2014, it says.
But Boko Haram has not yet confirmed the ceasefire, and there is no indication that the girls are any closer to being released. Who are Boko Haram?
"The insurgents... grabbed young people, boys and girls, from our region," said Alhaji Shettima Maina, local community leader for Mafa. Escape from Boko Haram
He said that all girls above the age of 11, and boys aged 13 and over, had been taken from the village. Who are Boko Haram?
The authorities in neighbouring Chad said the attacks were carried out by dissident factions within Boko Haram. Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
Since a state of emergency was declared in three of Nigeria's north-eastern states in May 2013, Boko Haram has taken many women and children hostage and has agreed to some prisoner swaps. Will 'truce' with Boko Haram free Chibok girls?
The name Boko Haram translates as "Western education is forbidden", and the militants have carried out raids on schools and colleges, seeing them as a symbol of Western culture. In the report, a 19-year-old woman says she was held in militant camps for three months last year.
In one operation, she was given a knife to kill one of five vigilantes captured by Boko Haram.
"I was shaking with horror and couldn't do it. The camp leader's wife took the knife and killed him," she said.
On another occasion, she was forced to accompany the men to the front line.
"I was told to hold the bullets and lie in the grass while they fought. They came to me for extra bullets as the fight continued during the day," the woman said.
"When security forces arrived at the scene and began to shoot at us, I fell down in fright. The insurgents dragged me along on the ground as they fled back to camp."
HRW said it had interviewed 30 women and girls who had either fled captivity or were released by Boko Haram.
They included 12 of the 57 who managed to escape when the militants raided a boarding school in the remote town of Chibok in Borno in April.
'Rape'
Boko Haram is still holding 219 of the girls it had abducted during the raid, sparking a global campaign for their release.
On 17 October, Nigeria's chief of defence staff said the military had agreed a truce with Boko Haram, and he was hopeful that the girls would be freed within a week.
However, Boko Haram has not commented on the alleged deal and the girls have not been released.
HRW said Boko Haram seemed to pick victims arbitrarily, though students and Christians were particularly targeted.
One young woman held in a camp described how combatants placed a noose around her neck and threatened her with death until she renounced her religion.
The women and girls interviewed said that some Boko Haram commanders appeared to make efforts to protect them from sexual violence.
However, HRW said it had documented eight cases of sexual violence perpetrated by fighters and most cases of rape occurred after the victims were forced to marry.
In the latest abductions, about 30 children were taken during Thursday's raid on Mafa village in Borno.
"The insurgents... grabbed young people, boys and girls, from our region," said Alhaji Shettima Maina, a local community leader for Mafa.
At least 17 people were also killed in the assault, blamed by the Nigerian authorities on bandits.
Are you in north-eastern Nigeria? How has the recent conflict affected you? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Are you in north-eastern Nigeria? How has the recent conflict affected you? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.