Boko Haram releases apparent Chibok girls’ video

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Militant Islamist group Boko Haram released a video purportedly showing some girls kidnapped from the north-east Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014.

Of the about 270 girls originally abducted from their school, about 60 escaped soon afterwards and others have been released after mediation. Around 100 are believed to still be in captivity.

A group of about 12 girls, some carrying babies, are seen in the 21-minute video.
“We are the Chibok girls. We are the ones you are crying about for us to come back. By the grace of Allah, we are never coming back,” said one girl. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim the girls were among those kidnapped in Chibok.

Abubakar Shekau – leader of one of the group’s factions – also appears in the video, obtained by a US-based journalism website, Sahara Reporters.

Last May, Boko Haram exchanged 82 girls after mediation, involving a payment to the insurgents and the release of some imprisoned senior members. Prior to that, 24 were released or found in 2016.

Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and forced two million others to flee in an insurgency that began in 2009 aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate. Aid groups say the militants have kidnapped thousands of adults and children, many of whose cases are neglected.