Sunday, June 7Sunday, June 7Nigerian troops freed 360 hostages on Saturday after an intelligence-led raid on Boko Haram strongholds in the Mandara Mountains of Borno state, the military said. Two children died of exhaustion before the operation concluded, according to local military spokesman Brigadier General Tukur Gusau. The rescue unfolded in the rugged terrain around Ngoshe, a village long used by the jihadist group as a rear base, and followed weeks of surveillance that pinpointed the captives’ locations.
The freed group includes women and children abducted in recent months from farming communities along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, local representatives told France 24 . Military sources speaking to Reuters confirmed the figure of 360 people, while the Czech news service iROZHLAS cited the same number in its report . Portuguese outlet Público, citing local officials, suggested the total may exceed 400, underscoring the fluidity of casualty and release figures in remote border zones .
Gusau said the operation was planned “to the minute” and relied on signals intelligence rather than negotiations. “We did not pay ransom, we did not swap prisoners,” he told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF . The military has not disclosed how many Boko Haram fighters were killed or captured during the raid, which unfolded on Friday night and continued into Saturday morning.
Borno state governor Zulum Babagana welcomed the rescue but warned that the group’s remaining factions remain active. “We have degraded their capacity in the Mandara pocket, yet the insurgency is not defeated,” he told the German weekly Die Zeit . The governor urged continued international support for the regional task force that includes troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin.
Humanitarian agencies said the freed hostages are being screened in transit camps near Maiduguri for signs of trauma and infectious disease. Médecins Sans Frontières reported teams on standby to provide psychosocial care, noting that many children have spent more than a year in captivity . The Nigerian Red Cross is coordinating family reunification, though officials caution that some parents may no longer be alive to claim their children.
The raid comes two days after Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, General Christopher Musa, pledged to intensify “kinetic and non-kinetic” operations against Boko Haram in the run-up to the 2027 elections. Analysts say the military is under pressure to demonstrate progress ahead of the vote, while insurgents have stepped up attacks on soft targets to undermine public confidence.
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postimees · about 2 hours ago
Nigerijská armáda uvedla, že osvobodila 360 lidí unesených skupinou Boko Haram Nigerijská armáda oznámila, že osvobodila 360 lidí, které ve státě Borno na severovýchodě země unesla teroristická skupina Boko Haram. Napsala to agentura AP. Záchrannou operaci armáda podle svého prohlášení provedla v pohoří Mandara, které je baštou Boko Haram.
irozhlas.cz · about 2 hours ago
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il fatto quotidiano · about 2 hours ago
Boko Haram liberta centenas de mulheres e crianças sequestradas em Ngoshe Há incertezas sobre as circunstâncias da libertação e números exactos, mas é possível que tenham sido libertadas mais de 400 pessoas.
publico · about 2 hours ago
360 Geiseln in Nigeria aus Gewalt von Boko Haram befreit Zwei verschleppte Kinder sind laut Angaben des Militärs jedoch an Erschöpfung gestorben
der standard · about 2 hours ago
Boko Haram: Nigerianisches Militär befreit 360 Geiseln Im Norden Nigerias hat das Militär 360 Menschen aus der Gewalt der islamistischen Miliz Boko Haram befreit. Zwei Kinder starben offenbar zuvor an Erschöpfung.
die zeit · about 2 hours ago
Nigeria: 360 Geiseln aus Gewalt von Boko Haram befreit
orf.at · about 2 hours ago
Nigeria: Hundreds of kidnapped women, children freed from Boko Haram jihadists Hundreds of women and children who were kidnapped by jihadist group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria were freed over the weekend, local representatives said. It was not immediately clear how the victims release was secured, although the military said it had executed an "intelligence-led rescue operation".
france24 · about 2 hours ago
Nigerias military rescues 360 hostages in Borno state reut.rs/3SpezAY
bluesky bot · about 3 hours ago