Nigeria: The leader of the Nigerian
Islamist rebel group Boko Haram has
said he will release more than 200
schoolgirls abducted by his fighters
last month in exchange for prisoners,
according to a video seen by Agence
France-Presse on Monday.
Around 100 girls wearing full veils
and praying are shown in an
undisclosed location in the 17-
minute video in which Boko Haram
leader Abubakar Shekau speaks,
according to the French news
agency.
Militants fighting for an Islamist
state stormed a secondary school in
the northeastern village of Chibok on
April 14 and seized 276 girls who
were taking exams. Some managed
to escape but around 200 remain
missing.
The group has killed thousands
since 2009 and destabilized parts of
northeast Nigeria, the country with
Africa's largest population and
biggest economy.
The attack has provoked global
expressions of outrage, and concern
about the fate of the girls deepened
when Shekau threatened in a video
released earlier this month to sell
the girls "in the market".
Nigeria said on Saturday it had
deployed two army divisions to the
hunt for the girls while several
nations including the United States,
Britain, Israel and France have
offered assistance or sent experts.
The Nigerian government has been
sharply criticized for its response to
the abductions but President
Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday
that international military and
intelligence assistance made him
optimistic about finding the girls.
French President Francois Hollande
on Sunday offered to host a summit
in Paris next Saturday with Nigeria
and its neighbors focused on the
militant group.
The leaders of Benin, Cameroon,
Chad and Niger might also attend
and Britain, the European Union and
the United States would probably be
represented as well, Hollande's
aides said.
The mass abduction of schoolgirls
has touched a chord around the
world, and triggered a support
campaign using the Twitter hashtag
#BringBackOurGirls.
Islamist rebel group Boko Haram has
said he will release more than 200
schoolgirls abducted by his fighters
last month in exchange for prisoners,
according to a video seen by Agence
France-Presse on Monday.
Around 100 girls wearing full veils
and praying are shown in an
undisclosed location in the 17-
minute video in which Boko Haram
leader Abubakar Shekau speaks,
according to the French news
agency.
Militants fighting for an Islamist
state stormed a secondary school in
the northeastern village of Chibok on
April 14 and seized 276 girls who
were taking exams. Some managed
to escape but around 200 remain
missing.
The group has killed thousands
since 2009 and destabilized parts of
northeast Nigeria, the country with
Africa's largest population and
biggest economy.
The attack has provoked global
expressions of outrage, and concern
about the fate of the girls deepened
when Shekau threatened in a video
released earlier this month to sell
the girls "in the market".
Nigeria said on Saturday it had
deployed two army divisions to the
hunt for the girls while several
nations including the United States,
Britain, Israel and France have
offered assistance or sent experts.
The Nigerian government has been
sharply criticized for its response to
the abductions but President
Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday
that international military and
intelligence assistance made him
optimistic about finding the girls.
French President Francois Hollande
on Sunday offered to host a summit
in Paris next Saturday with Nigeria
and its neighbors focused on the
militant group.
The leaders of Benin, Cameroon,
Chad and Niger might also attend
and Britain, the European Union and
the United States would probably be
represented as well, Hollande's
aides said.
The mass abduction of schoolgirls
has touched a chord around the
world, and triggered a support
campaign using the Twitter hashtag
#BringBackOurGirls.
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