A new report says that eight additional girls were kidnapped from a Nigerian village overnight by gunmen suspected to be a part of the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram.
According to Reuters, the girls were aged 12 to 15.
Lazarus Musa, a resident of Warabe, the village where the attack happened said, “They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army color. They started shooting in our village.”
Nigerian police say the girls were taken on trucks with livestock and food.
The news comes following the abduction of more than 200 girls from Chibok Government Girls Secondary School on April 14.
Gunman entered the school claiming to be soldiers that were there to rescue the students; they commanded them to gather outside. A 16-year-old student said, “They started shouting, ‘Allahu Akhbar,’ ( God is great)…and we knew.” The chant helped the girls realize that the men were members of Boko Haram, which means, “Western education is sinful”, a group that has killed more than 1,500 this year alone.
Three weeks following the original kidnapping, 276 girls are still missing. An intermediary says that at least two young women have died of snakebite and about 20 others have fallen ill.
In a recently released video, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau took responsibility for the original kidnapping, threatening to take more girls. He referred to them as “slaves” and said “By Allah, I will sell them in the marketplace.”
The call for the Nigerian government to rectify the situation has been great. Concerned citizens from Nigeria to cities like New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles have gathered to rally in support of the #bringbackourgirls campaign. To get involved visit change.org to sign the petition calling for the involvement of the Nigerian government and UNICEF.