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Terrorists have abducted four aid workers and a private security worker in northeastern Nigeria, the hostages said in a video made public on Monday, June 29, 2020.
According to the video seen by Reuters, The hostages identified themselves and said they work for different organizations.
The video shows their heads and shoulders against leafy plants outdoors.
The hostages said they work for the following aid groups: Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and REACH.
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“I am appealing to the International Rescue Committee to come and rescue me,” said one of the hostages, who gave his name as Luka Filibus.
While the hostages did not name Islamic State or Boko Haram, they referred to their captors as soldiers of the “khalifa”.
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Captives have used the term to refer to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), rather than Boko Haram.
The IRC and Action Against Hunger said in separate statements that they are working to secure the release of their abducted colleagues.
An unsafe region
The latest abduction underscores the risk aid workers continue to face in the region.
Aid workers tending to hundreds of displaced persons in the region are often exposed to abductions, torture and sometimes deaths.
In December of 2019, terrorist Boko Haram sect killed five of the six aid workers abducted months before.
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In the same month, the terrorists abducted five more aid workers.
Nigeria has waged a decade-long insurgency against terrorists who intend to carve out a hardline Islamic state from Nigeria’s northeastern region.
The insurgency has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The Nigerian military has touted recent victories against the sects, but terrorists remain capable of mounting attacks in remote communities while abducting unarmed civilians.