Nigerian Islamic extremists abduct more girls

This Oct. 14, 2014 picture shows people demonstrate calling on the Nigerian government to rescue girls taken from a secondary school in Chibok region, in the city of Abuja, Nigeria.

Escaping residents report dozens more girls and young women have been abducted by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria, raising doubts about an announced cease-fire and hopes for the release of 219 schoolgirls held captive since April.

The residents say about 30 teenage girls and boys have been kidnapped in recent days from villages 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

Another 40 girls and young women were abducted from neighbouring Adamawa state on Oct. 18, the day after Nigeria’s military announced a cease-fire agreement with Boko Haram insurgents.

It quotes escapees saying they are forced to become Muslim, forced into marriage and raped.