The abduction involved two groups of women who had gone to collect leaves for cooking in the bush.A position of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDPs) in the town of Arbinda, Sahel region, was the target of an attack by armed individuals on Thursday evening, January 12, 2023.

During the incident, attributed to jihadist fighters affiliated with the ‘Groupe de Soutien a l’Islam et aux Musulmans’ (GSIM), two civilian army auxiliaries were killed and three others wounded.

“On their way back, the attackers kidnapped about 30 women. But three of them managed to escape and returned to the village. The abduction took place when the women went to the outskirts of the village to gather leaves and wild fruits for cooking,” a local source said.

On Friday, another group of women, about 20, were abducted in similar circumstances.

The town of Arbinda is a regular target of terrorist attacks, as is the rest of the country. The raids of jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State or Al Qaeda have claimed more than a thousand victims and led to the displacement of nearly two million people.