The Boko Haram captives were freed by elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion at the end of an operation on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Hundreds of people were rescued by the BIR‘s operation Alpha, which was deployed from the Logone et Chari division in Cameroon to Dabanga in Nigeria.  191 children, 99 women and 10 men of Nigerian nationality are now free. They had been kidnapped by Boko Haram jihadists and held in their camps.

The former hostages and the military equipment recovered during the operation were presented to the Governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari. The administration expressed its gratitude to the defence forces. For almost a decade, the armed forces have been stepping up their operations and efforts in the fight against Boko Haram.

The armed jihadist group has displaced some 80,000 people living in the Minawao refugee camp in the Far North region of Cameroon. The Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities have begun the process of repatriating the 300 people who have been released to Nigeria.