Islamist Extremist Group Boko Haram Kidnaps More Girls From Another School In Nigeria
Suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants have abducted eight more girls in north-eastern Nigeria.
By Sadho Ram — 07 May 2014, 05:53 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
About Two Weeks Ago, More Than 200 Schoolgirls Were Abducted From A Chibok Boarding School In Nigeria By The Members An Islamist Group Called Boko Haram
Now, The Group Has Reportedly Assaulted Another School In A Village In The Borno State Of Maiduguri, Kidnapping Eight More Young Girls Aged 12 And 15
Abubakar Shekau leads the Islamist group, which has killed thousands in northern Nigeria
Image via BBCSuspected Boko Haram gunmen have kidnapped eight more girls, aged between 12 and 15, in an overnight raid on a village in the sect's stronghold in north-eastern Borno state. The attack came a day after the group released a video threatening to sell as "slaves" 276 teenage schoolgirls kidnapped three weeks ago.
theguardian.com
A Local Resident Musa Ibahim, Who In An Interview With The UK's Channel 4 News, Said:
"Some Boko Haram members invaded our village on Sunday night and kidnapped our young girls and made away with food items and livestock. There were around 30 of them and they were well armed."
channel4.com
"They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour. They started shooting in our village," said another villager.
aljazeera.comThe Latest Attack Comes As The Nigerian Government Faces Growing Criticism For Its Failure To Find The Schoolgirls And Curb The Activities Of Boko Haram That Has Claimed Thousands Of Lives In Nigeria
A man display copies of local newspapers during a demonstration calling on the government to rescue kidnapped school girls from Chibok government secondary school, in Abuja
Image via hindustantimes.comParents of the newly abducted girls will be painfully aware of their potential fate after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s chilling threat to sell schoolgirls taken from Chibok village, also in Borno, in the early hours of 15 April as slaves in the market.
The extremist leader’s comments in a video released on Monday confirmed the worst fears of the girls’ relatives amid unconfirmed local reports that some of the girls had already been sold as “brides” in neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.
hindustantimes.com
A file photo of four female students of government secondary school Chibok who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families in Nigeria
Image via hindustantimes.comBoko Haram has waged war against the state since 2009 in a bid to establish a medieval-style caliphate in the north of the country. It has railed against the use of Western-style curricula in schools, and efforts to reconcile the Christian south with the Muslim north. But in these latest attacks, Nigerians have transcended the ethnic divide to unite in their anger towards Boko Haram, but also in their condemnation of the government, which is accused of doing little to trace the missing girls.
With A Population Of Just 168.8 Million, Nigeria Accounts For Some 26% Of All Recorded Kidnappings
That's almost as much as the entirety of the Americas (27%) and more than the continent of Asia (19%). Risk analysis firm Control Risks estimated that 74% of all kidnappings in Africa were in Nigeria.
policymic.comMeanwhile, The United Nations Warned That Any Parties Participating In The Buying Or Selling Of The Schoolgirls Could Face Prosecution Under International Law
"We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law. These can under certain circumstances constitute crimes against humanity," UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.
theguardian.com
"That means anyone responsible can be arrested, charged, prosecuted, and jailed at any time in the future. So just because they think they are safe now, they won't necessarily be in two years, five years or 10 years time," he said. He also urged Nigeria's federal and local authorities to work together to rescue the girls.
aljazeera.com