Nigerian troops have rescued an additional 234
women and girls in the Sambisa Forest, a stronghold for Boko
Haram militants, a Nigerian military spokesman said Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the girls rescued
Thursday were "Chibok girls," the military said.
That April 2014 mass abduction of more than 200 girls from
the school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok
sparked a social media movement, #BringBackOurGirls.
There's been no sign of them since.
About 450 women and girls were rescued earlier this week as
the military entered the forest in northeast Nigeria looking for
Boko Haram camps.
The Nigerian military operation is continuing on various fronts
and efforts are concentrated on the rescue of civilian hostages
and the destruction of Boko Haram camps, Maj. Gen. Chris
Olukolade, information director for the Nigerian military, said
in a statement.
The women and children who were rescued Thursday have
been evacuated to join other former hostages to take part in
the screening process, Olukolade, said.
Boko Haram has said its aim is to impose a stricter
enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split
between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian
south.
More than 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by
Boko Haram since last year, according to Amnesty
International.