Boko Haram abducts 40 boys, men in Borno village – witnesses

Gunmen abducted 40 male youths from Malari village in a raid earlier this week.

Witness Mohammed Zarami said the gunmen arrived at the northeastern village of Malari around 8 p.m. on Wednesday local time, heavily armed but did not fire shots or kill anyone.Zarami told Reuters in the northeast city of Maiduguri, where he had fled to on foot.

"People ran out of their houses in fear but they warned no one should disobey them," "They took away over 40 youths mostly between the ages of 15 to 23. As I am talking to you now, there is no youth in our village," he said.

Another witness, Bulama Muhammad told AFP

“They came in pick-up trucks armed with guns and gathered all the men in the village outside the home of the village chief where they preached to us before singling out 40 of our boys and taking them away,” 

 ‎Malari village lies 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) from the Sambisa forest and close to the town of Gwoza, which the militants captured last June declaring it part of their caliphate.

“My two sons and three nephews were among those taken away by the Boko Haram‎ gunmen and we believe they are going to use them as conscripts,” Muhammad said.
“When we heard of the kidnap of 40 boys in Malari by Boko Haram we decided to leave because we could be the next target,” said Alaramma Babagoni, who fled from the nearby village of Mulgwi.