BOKO HARAM: 'If We Were Armed We Would Surely Go Face Them' - Parents Give Up Search For Abducted Girls
Parents have been scouring the bushland for days in an effort to locate some of the schoolgirls abducted by boko haram members from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno state.
It's been gathered that the relatives and well wishers of the abducted girls have been pooling money to buy fuel for motorcycles and vehicles to help with the search.
One father said he and others decided to turn back after locals told them the insurgents were nearby and were prepared to slaughter anyone who advanced further.
“If we were armed as they are we would surely go…and face them,” said Enoch Mark, whose daughter and two nieces were among those taken.
Boko Haram, which says it wants to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, is blamed for killing thousands since 2009.
The group’s name loosely translates as “Western education is forbidden,” and attacks targeting schools and universities have been a prominent feature of the five-year uprising.
Students have been massacred while sleeping in their dormitories, but a mass abduction specifically targeting
girls is unprecedented.
A security source said there were indications that the Islamists have used female hostages as both sex slaves and cooks.
Boko Haram has categorically ruled out peace negotiations and backed away from several ceasefire offers, but Mark nevertheless pleaded with the insurgents to show compassion.
“We call on Boko Haram to release our daughters who have committed no offence against anyone,” he said.
Boko haram also recently claimed responsibility for the Nyanya bombing attack carried out the same day the girls were abducted, but have kept mum on the kidnap of the school children.
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