Kidnapped Nigerian Girls ‘shown’ In New Boko Haram Video
Three girls are seen speaking in the video and one says the group have not been harmed
A new video released by Islamist militants Boko Haram claims to show around 130 girls kidnapped from a school in Nigeria last month.
The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said they would be held until all imprisoned militants had been freed.
He said the girls had converted to Islam. The video, released on Monday, claims to show them praying.
Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls in northern Nigeria on 14 April and threatened to sell them.
The BBC’s John Simpson in the northern city of Maiduguri said Boko Haram’s comments showed signs that the group was willing to negotiate.
Three of the girls – wearing the full-length hijab – are shown speaking in the 17-minute video, obtained by French news agency AFP.
Two girls say they were Christian and have converted to Islam, while the other says she is Muslim.
“These girls, these girls you occupy yourselves with… we have indeed liberated them. These girls have become Muslims,” Abubakar Shekau says in the video.
It is thought the majority of the abducted girls are Christians, although there are a number of Muslims among them.
Correspondents said the girls appeared calm and one said that they had not been harmed.
There is no indication of when or where the video was taken, although the location appears to be rural.
BBC
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First things first: The Nigerian government has to be pragmatic. Since you would neither protect these girls (in the first place), nor rescue them, do the simple thing first. Release Boko Haram prisoners and they release the girls. Then go for the long term strategy of fighting the group. For now, the pronouncements you are making about not compromising with the militants are unhelpful. The young girls are in captivity, and so far you (Nigerian government) have not demonstrated capacity to rescue them. Fortunately, as the girls have said, so far, they have not been harmed – and the picture can confirm. But no one knows what the group might do later on. The best thing to do is to rescue the girls when they are still in good shape. Any delays to secure their release might lead to the undesirable. I believe this is the best option for now.