Burkina Faso forces rescued 66 kidnapped women and kids

• 66 women and kids abducted by alleged militant in Burkina Faso’s north last week.
• They were abducted while gathering food in an insurgency-affected area.
• They are now in the capital, Ouagadougou, where they are expected to be questioned.

66 women and children who were abducted by alleged militant in Burkina Faso‘s north last week have been freed by security troops, according to state television.

The victims were abducted in an unprecedented mass kidnapping while gathering food in an insurgency-affected area.

According to accounts, they were located on a bus at a security checkpoint around 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of where they were taken.

It is unknown if their captors have also been taken into custody.

On Friday night, images of the kids and women, some of whom had infants on their backs, boarding a bus at an airport following an address by a military officer were shown on state television.

“They have found freedom after eight long days in the hands of their kidnappers,” the reporter says.

They are now in the capital, Ouagadougou, where they are expected to be questioned to find out “more about their abductors, their detention and their convoy”, a security source told the news agency.

On January 12 and 13, two groups of women and children were abducted in the Arbinda district.

Militants have blocked the area’s access roads. Due to the scarcity of food and the dire humanitarian situation, there is extreme hunger.

In order to obtain food and supplies, demonstrators in Arbinda smashed into warehouses last month.

An insurgency that has lasted ten years and forced over two million people from their homes has affected Burkina Faso as a country.

Last January, when the military seized power, attacks were promised to stop. After failing to put a stop to the insurgency, a separate set of officers staged a second coup in September, but the violence has persisted.

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