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11/22/2024 08:43:15 am

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Boko Haram Leader Releases Video of Abducted Girls

The leader of the Nigerian terrorist cell Boko Haram released a video on Monday showing the schoolgirls who were abducted last month and said that he will release the girls in exchange for several prisoners, the Agence France-Presse reported.

The AFP reported that in the 17-minute video where Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau spoke, as many as 100 girls in full veils were seen praying in an unknown location.   

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The terrorist group assailed a secondary girls' school on April 14 in the village of Chibok, where 276 girls in the middle of taking their exams were abducted. Several girls were able to escape, while more than 200 of them were still missing.

Boko Haram reportedly murdered thousands of people since 2009, and managed to destabilize some areas in the northern part of Nigeria, Africa's largest country in terms of population.

The abduction triggered a massive global outrage, and apprehension over the condition of the girls intensified after Shekau released the first video earlier this month stating that the group will sell the girls as slaves.

The Nigerian government announced on Saturday that it had already designated two army divisions to look for the girls, while the international community, including the US, the UK, France, and Israel offered to assist or deploy experts to rescue the girls.

 The government of Nigeria received sharp criticism from other nations because of the way they responded to the kidnappings, yet President Goodluck Jonathan stated on Sunday that international aide inspired him to be optimistic in rescuing the girls.

President Francois Hollande of France offered on Sunday to host a talk with Nigeria and its neighboring country about the militant group.

The summit, which will be held in Paris on Saturday, will be attended by the political leaders of Cameroon, Benin, and Chad. The UK might also send their representatives, as well as the US and the European Union.

An international support campaign was triggered by the abduction of the schoolgirls, prompting the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls to be born in social media sites. 

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