Boko Haram militants abduct 20 women

According to officials on Monday, the militants arrived on Thursday in the Garkin Fulani settlement, near the town of Chibok, where they kidnapped a large group of schoolgirls in April.
 
They then forced the women to enter their vehicles at gunpoint and drove away to an unknown location in the remote stretch of Borno state. The militants also took three young men who tried to stop the kidnapping.
 
    "We tried to go after them when the news got to us about three hours later, but the vehicles we have could not go far, and the report came to us a little bit late," Alhaji Tar, a member of the vigilante groups set up to fight Boko Haram, said.
 
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s defense headquarters said its forces prevented attacks by Boko Haram on several villages in Borno and neighboring Adamawa state this weekend, killing more than 50 militants.
 
Boko Haram has recently escalated its campaign of terror, even as Nigerians are holding almost daily protests, demanding the release of the abducted schoolgirls.
 
Last week, the militants killed hundreds of people in three villages in Gwoza district in Borno.
 
On April 14, the militants kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok in Borno state. The mass abduction triggered an international outcry.
 
Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape but 219 are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have failed so far.
 
The Nigerian government has been under intense pressure by many people around the globe especially the girls’ families to secure their release.
 
Boko Haram -- whose name means “Western education is forbidden” -- says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.