It was revealed on Monday by Cameroon that the Nigerian Chibok schoolgirls, kidnapped by Boko Haram last year were not among a group of 900 hostages liberated by the country’s army.
“The people that were freed are just villagers. The schoolgirls who are missing are not amongst the group,” Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakari told Reuters by telephone.
Last week’s hostage release raised hopes that some of the girls might be among the group. The army also said it killed at least 100 Boko Haram fighters in the operation as it seeks to strike back after a series of attacks, not least in its Far North region.
The freed hostages were driven in crowded open-topped trucks to the town of Maroua in the Far North at the weekend and given food aid and water by regional officials, Reuters television pictures showed.
