Nigerian president says hostages being used as human shields

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says dozens of people abducted from a passenger train near the nation’s capital in March are being used as “human shields” by their captors. Speaking in Abuja, the nation’s capital, he said the “delicate situation” has made it difficult to free the hostages despite military operations targeting their hideouts. Buhari said the armed groups “don’t care about killing their hostages if they come under attack,” insisting that his aim is ”to see all those in captivity safely rescued.” In addition to the train hostages, the armed groups are holding hundreds in various hideouts across Nigeria’s troubled northern region where violence by insurgents killed more than 4,000 people last year.