REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LAGOS -- Another group of 234 women and children were rescued by Nigerian troops from the northeast Sambisa forest on Thursday, the military said Saturday.
National military spokesperson Maj.-Gen Chris Olukolade said in a statement reaching Xinhua on Saturday that those rescued had been evacuated to screening centers.
He said the newly rescued added to the previous individuals rescued during the ongoing operation in the area.
The assault on the forest is continuing from various fronts, he added, noting that current efforts were being concentrated on rescuing civilians held hostage and destroying all terrorists camps and facilities in the forest.
On April 28, up to 300 unidentified females were rescued by Nigerian troops in the restive Sambisa forest following a daring and precise operation.
About 300 schoolgirls were abducted from the remote Nigerian town of Chibok a year ago. Dozens of the girls escaped but 219 remain missing.
The kidnapping provoked international outrage, but the majority are still missing despite Western pledges to help track them down and a Chadian attempt to broker their release.
Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to make every effort to free the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants a year ago but admitted it was not clear whether they would ever be found.
Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau claims the girls had been "married off" to his fighters.
Boko Haram militants have kidnapped at least 2,000 girls and women since the start of 2014, turning them into cooks, sex slaves and fighters, and sometimes killing those who refused to comply.
About 800,000 children have been forced to flee fighting, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The number of children absent from primary school in Nigeria has increased from 8 million in 2007 to 10.5 million, the highest figure in the world, says UNICEF.
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