1,890 people rescued from Boko Haram

Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have rescued 1,890 people held captive by Boko Haram militia at various locations within the past two weeks, an acting spokesman of the Nigerian army said.

“Those rescued include 800 Nigerian refugees that crossed to Cameroon that were brought back to Banki town in Nigeria,” Sani Kukasheka Usman said in an e-mailed statement late Thursday.

Attacks by the Nigerian Islamist-militant group Boko Haram have forced 2.2 million people to flee their homes, according to the African Union.

The group has killed thousands of people during a six-year campaign to establish Islamic law in Africa’s biggest economy and the violence has spilled over into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.