Boko Haram Seizes Another 20 Girls

The Nigerian government is certain to face yet more tough questions after suspected Boko Haram militants seized another 20 girls and young women just a few miles from where they kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in April. The leader of a vigilante group set up to resist the Islamic militants says gunmen arrived at a nomadic settlement in Nigeria's northeast late last week and forced young girls into a truck, the Guardian reports. The vigilantes say government forces were nowhere to be seen during the attack and they have nothing but homemade rifles against Boko Haram's machine guns and rocket launchers.

A few of the girls seized in April have escaped, but nearly 300 are still missing. Boko Haram raids on villages in the region last week are believed to have killed hundreds and despite the government's promise to protect the region and insistence that the military has performed valiantly, the militants appear to be operating unchecked. "These people have a free hand to do whatever they want," the director of the advocacy group Center for Democracy and Development tells the Wall Street Journal. "It's just that simple." (More Nigeria stories.)