ICC Note:
Following the abduction of 243 girls, as reported by the parents of those kidnapped, April 14, and the subsequent abduction of 8 additional girls May 5, the U.S. has met Boko Haram’s pledge to conduct more abductions with a pledge of its own. Following the announcement of plans for the assembly of a team of military and law enforcement personnel by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Obama told ABC News that Boko Haram has “been killing people ruthlessly for many years now and we’ve already been seeking greater cooperation with the Nigerians – 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.” Today, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN) will be holding a press conference to discuss the abductions and U.S. assistance following a protest it held in front of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning.
05/07/2014 Nigeria (Bos News Life) – Militants from Nigeria’s feared Islamic group Boko Haram have vowed to continue kidnapping daughters of Christians after abducting hundreds of mainly Christian schoolgirls in the country’s northeast.
Among those held as hostages were eight more girls who were abducted from a Nigerian village late Monday, May 5, authorities said.
The abductions came hours after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was seen on a widely-circulated video vowing to continue kidnapping “the daughters of Christians”, forcing them to convert to Islam and selling them into slavery. The kidnappings brought to some 300 the number of girls who have been taken, according to Nigerian police.
Police said the girls, reportedly ranging in age from 12 to 15, were taken on trucks, along with livestock and food from the village of Warabe, in the nation’s northeast.
“I abducted your girls,” Shekau said about the abductions of all school girls. “By Allah, I will sell them in the marketplace,” he added in the video.
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