Two weeks ago, a group of Nigerian school girls were abducted by extreme Islamist group Boko Haram led by Abubakar Shekau. Many more girls have been abducted as well and while over 50 have escaped, there are still more than 200 who are being held against their will.
Shekau was quick to take responsibility for the kidnappings and said that the group is holding the girls as slaves and may sell them. The parents of the girls are afraid of the fate they may meet and have grown angry with the Nigerian government and their rescue efforts.
The United States has sent a team of military, law enforcement and several other agencies to help find the girls and the group responsible for abducting them. President Obama spoke on the situation saying,
“It’s a heartbreaking situation, outrageous situation.”
“This may be the event that helps to mobilize the entire international community to finally do something against this horrendous organization that’s perpetrated such a terrible crime,” he added.
US officials believe that more than 220 girls have already been smuggled into neighboring countries, such as Chad and Cameroon. The countries have denied that the girls are there or have been smuggled across their borders.
Witnesses claim that gunmen had taken the girls by going door to door and dragging out any girls that they could find.
The witnesses also claimed that nobody was killed during the abductions, leading investigators to believe that the purpose of the attack was to abduct the girls. The team sent to find the abducted girls hopes to learn the reason the group abducted the girls and why they have taken so many.
“All along, we have been imagining what could happen to our daughters in the hands of these heinous people,” one mother, Lawal Zanna said.
Do you think the schoolgirls will be found and returned safely?
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