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Boko Haram releases video appearing to show Chibok schoolgirls Boko Haram releases video appearing to show Chibok schoolgirls
(35 minutes later)
Boko Haram has released a video that apparently shows some of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. A video that apparently shows a group of girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants from a school in Chibok in northern Nigeria more than two years ago has been released.
A total of 276 girls were taken from their school in the northern Nigerian town of Chibok in April 2014, of whom 219 are believed to remain captive. About 50 girls in Islamic dress are pictured in the video. A masked man, apparently a Boko Haram fighter in camouflage fatigues and holding a gun, stands in front of the group. He demands the release of Boko Haram prisoners in exchange for the girls.
In the video, about 50 girls wearing headscarves are seen behind a Boko Haram militant, who demands the release of fighters in return for the release of the girls, the BBC reported. The girls, whose faces are clearly visible, are thought to be among 276 who were kidnapped in April 2014. Some escaped, but more than 200 are still being held captive.
The masked militant claims that five girls were recently killed in a government airstrike. A clip showing bodies lying on the ground is included in the video.
Related: Family demand news of Nigerian schoolgirl who escaped Boko HaramRelated: Family demand news of Nigerian schoolgirl who escaped Boko Haram
“They should know that their children are still in our hands,” said a man, whose face was covered, in the video posted on YouTube. One of the girls shown in the video is prompted by the militant to urge the Nigerian government to free Boko Haram prisoners.
He claimed that some of the girls had died in airstrikes. Giving her name as Maida Yakubu from Chibok, she tells parents to “take heart”, and says: “Talk to the government so that we can be allowed to go home.”
The mass kidnapping sparked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention to the Boko Haram conflict, in which at least 20,000 people have been killed since 2009. Another girl in the group is filmed holding a baby. It is feared that many of the schoolgirls have been forced into marriage by their captors.
Throughout last year the Nigerian military announced the rescue of hundreds of people, mostly women and children, who have been kidnapped by the Islamic extremist group. If verified, the video would be the third released by Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist organisation that has waged a campaign of terror in northern Nigeria. The first, released a month after the abductions, also included a demand for the release of jailed militants in exchange for the girls.
More details soon “I swear to almighty Allah, you will not see them again until you release our brothers that you have captured,” Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in that video.
Amid an international outcry over the kidnappings, the Nigerian government indicated it was willing to negotiate with Boko Haram.
In April this year, a second video purporting to show about 15 of the girls was shown to parents, after being filmed four months earlier.
At the time, Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s information minister, declined to give details of talks with Boko Haram. But he confirmed negotiations were taking place. “There are ongoing talks. We cannot ignore leads but of course many of these investigations cannot be disclosed openly because it could also endanger the negotiations,” he told CNN.
The kidnapping of the girls triggered a global campaign, including the use of the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Michelle Obama and other public figures and celebrities backed the campaign on social media.
Amid fears that the mostly Christian girls had been forced into sex slavery and compelled to convert to Islam, countries including the UK, US, Canada, France, Israel and China offered assistance to the Nigerian government.
In the past 15 months, the Nigerian army has retaken towns and villages in the north-east of the country that were controlled by Boko Haram, and has freed hundreds of women and children held captive. However, many face rejection or are stigmatised when they are returned to their families or are settled in refugee camps.
The kidnapping of the Chibok girls attracted global attention, but thousands more children have also been abducted by Boko Haram since 2014.
A faction of the militant group, which is fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, recently pledged loyalty to Isis.