Last week, the Nigerian army freed almost 700 women and children from the Sambisa forest, where they were kept captive by the militant group Boko Haram. The liberated were taken to a refugee camp where they received medical and psychological treatment. Some of the women recounted their experience in the forest.
"We just have to give praise to God that we are alive, those of us who have survived," Lami Musa, 27, told the Associated Press on Sunday.
According to the victims, the militants began stoning their captive before the Nigerian military arrived. It is unclear how many of the prisoners were killed as a result. About 18 women and children were killed by stray bullets and military vehicles, reports Reuters. Ten of the women were hiding in the bushes when army vehicles unknowingly drove over them, says Musa. Another three women were killed when they walked over a landmine on their way out of the forest.
Many of the women were taken by Boko Haram several months ago and have been kept in the forest ever since. Some of the women were pregnant at the time and gave birth inside the forest. Some of the captive children have never been past their place of captivitiy. Many of the captive women were forced to marry militants, others were sold to different individuals.
The Chief of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) states that around 214 of the women rescued last week are pregnant.
"Already, many of them are undergoing screening for various diseases, infections including HIV/AIDS and about 214 of those already screened were discovered to be at various stages of pregnancies, some visibly pregnant and some just tested pregnant; but we are supporting all of them with various levels of care to stabilize them," said Babatunde Oshotimehin, the UNFPA Nigeria executive director.
"Some of the children that were freed along with the women, it was discovered, were born in the forest and had never been out in the open until their release by the Nigerian Army," he said.
"What we found is that some of the women and girls that have come back actually have much more in terms of the stress they have faced, so the counselling has to be more intense and working with them one-on-one," he added.
Nigerian forces have continued to liberate Boko Haram prisoners and have put the militant group in disarray in recent weeks. Some of the women reported that the militants are short on supplies, as was assumed by the Nigerian military.
