ABUJA, Nigeria, May 6 (UPI) -- At least eight more girls were abducted Tuesday by suspected Boko Haram Islamists in northern Nigeria, police said.
The latest incident brings the number of girls, aged 12 to 15, abducted in recent days to 276, and the number currently being held to 228.
Tuesday, armed men kidnapped the girls from Warabe, a village in northeastern Nigeria, opening fire during the capture.
“There were many and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army color. They started shooting in our village,” said witness Lazarus Musa.
Police said the girls were taken away on trucks, with stolen livestock and food.
The incident came as Nigerians have criticized their government for its slowness in responding to the abduction of 276 students from a school in the town of Chibok on Apr. 14. Its inability to locate the girls has led to protests in the capital of Abuja and the commercial center of Lagos.
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- Nigerians launch #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign to highlight abductions
- 'Million woman protest march' planned in Nigeria in response to abducted school girls
- Nigerian military retracts claim of abducted girls' release
