Boko Haram reportedly kidnapped 30 children over the weekend

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last updated 8 January 2015

Boko Haram militants raided Mafa, a town in the Borno state, on Friday, CNN reports. Local leaders told CNN that the gunmen abducted 30 boys and girls ages 11 and older. The alleged abductions come after reports of a cease-fire between the militant group and the Nigerian government.

The reported kidnapping is suspected to be part of an attempt to recruit child soldiers for the extremist cause. "They took them away to their base in the bush, and we believe they are going to use them as foot soldiers," Shettima Maina, Mafa's local government chair, told CNN.