Nigerian Troops *Finally* Preparing To Launch Rescue Mission For Missing Schoolgirls

As pressure mounts to #bringbackourgirls, reports emerge that Nigerian troops are preparing to launch a rescue mission to find the missing schoolgirls.

nigeria

by Alya Mooro |
Published on

A fortnight has passed since 234 girls were taken out of their school in Chibok, Nigeria at gunpoint, rounded up onto buses and driven off into the Sambisa forest in the north-east of the country by a group believed to be affiliated with Boko Haram, a terrorist cell. Following mass, worldwide protests against the authorities for not doing very much to find the missing girls, it has today been announced that Nigerian troops are preparing to launch a rescue mission.

Local newspapers have reported that four battalions of troops are now stationed at the north, south, east and west corners of the forest - where the girls are thought to have been taken by Boko Haram - an Islamist militant group whose name means "western education is forbidden". The troops are reportedly backed up by fighter aircraft, helicopter gunships and police surveillance helicopters, as well as a large medical team.

It's about time! It seems with the mounting pressure both from within the country and the international community, the Nigerian government have stepped up. This is a far cry from a statement by Ahmed Zanna - a Nigerian senator from the area - who previously reported that not only were the authorities not doing very much to find the girls, they were in fact ignoring important information that may have led to their whereabouts days ago. "What bothered me the most is that whenever I informed the military where these girls were, after two to three days they were moved from that place to another," he said. "Still, I would go back and inform them on new developments," reports The Telegraph.

Of the 200 plus girls kidnapped during a physics exam at their school in the town of Chibok, 53 are thought to have escaped. The whereabouts of the others are unknown, although reports have emerged that the girls, aged between 16 and 18, might have been sold as brides to members of Boko Haram – who are responsible for over 1,500 deaths this year alone – for as little as $12 (£7.11) each. ‘We have heard from members of the forest community where they took the girls,’ Samson Dewah, a parent of one of the missing girls, told The Guardian. ‘They said there had been mass marriages and the girls are being shared out as wives among the Boko Haram militants.’

Let's hope now that the troops have mobilised, we'll finally be able to have #broughtbackourgirls.

Follow Alya on Twitter @moorizZLA

Picture: PA

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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