Nigerian troops have rescued 33 people who were abducted while traveling through Zamfara state in northwestern Nigeria, the army said on Sunday.
The military launched an operation after unidentified gunmen kidnapped the group in the Tsafe area on Saturday, according to army spokesman Aliyu Danja. He did not identify the group responsible for the abduction.
“The troops engaged the terrorists with effective fire, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee into adjoining bushes,” Danja said in a statement.
The troops subsequently secured and rescued all 33 abducted people, he added.
Nigerian forces are continuing efforts to track down the attackers who fled into nearby bushes, according to the army.
Zamfara has experienced a surge in killings and kidnappings in recent months. At least 32 people were killed in separate attacks across the state in June alone.
The violence is part of a broader security crisis affecting several parts of Nigeria. Armed groups have carried out repeated kidnappings and attacks in the northwest and north-central regions, while an insurgency in the northeast has killed thousands and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.
President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly pledged to tackle the country’s security challenges, but attacks and kidnappings have continued to pose a major threat across Africa’s most populous country.
