http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-planes-searching-for-boko-haram-abductees-spot-girls-in-nigeria-1407263240
The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Planes Searching for Boko Haram Abductees Spot Girls in Nigeria
Groups Were Seen Together in Remote Locations, Raising Hopes They are Kidnapped Students
By Drew Hinshaw in Gombe, Nigeria, and Dion Nissenbaum in Washington
Updated Aug. 5, 2014
Recent U.S. surveillance flights over northeastern Nigeria showed what appeared to be large groups of girls held together in remote locations, raising hopes among domestic and foreign officials that they are among the group that Boko Haram abducted from a boarding school in April, U.S. and Nigerian officials said.
The surveillance suggests that at least some of the 219 schoolgirls still held captive haven't been forced into marriage or sex slavery, as had been feared, but instead are being used as bargaining chips for the release of prisoners.
The U.S. aerial imagery matches what Nigerian officials say they hear from northern Nigerians who have interacted with the Islamist insurgency: that some of Boko Haram's most famous set of captives are getting special treatment, compared with the hundreds of other girls the group is suspected to have kidnapped. Boko Haram appears to have seen the schoolgirls as of higher value, given the global attention paid to their plight, those officials said.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces re-election in February, is under political pressure to secure the girls' release, with some people urging him to agree to a prisoner swap....
http://www.blackpressusa.com/2014/08/vigils-held-for-kidnapped-nigerian-girls/#sthash.YZIYlJJU.dpbs
Vigils Held for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls
August 5, 2014
by Craig D. Frazier
Special to the NNPA from the New York Amsterdam News
Last week, a number of local and international events occurred to mark that it has been more than 100 days since the abduction of the Chibok pupils.
In Manhattan, a silent candlelight vigil, organized by Nkechie Ogbodo, president of Kechi’s Project, was held across the street from the Nigerian consulate. Members of the organization called for the return of the Nigerian girls and were joined by faith-based leaders and community activist.
“We are praying and honoring them so they can stay strong, come back safely and have a chance to live whatever is left of their broken lives,” Ogbodo told the AmNews.
Since 2010, Kechi’s Project, a New York-based nonprofit organization, has empowered underprivileged and under-represented girls in Nigeria. The Nigerian native is responsible for spearheading multiple campaigns here in New York and across the globe that highlight disparities faced by young females in Africa....
Nigerian girls deserve continued attention: Our view
The response of President Goodluck Jonathan, in Washington for a summit this week, doesn't inspire much confidence
The Editorial Board, USA Today
August 5, 2014
(excerpt)
Jonathan, in Washington this week for a U.S.-Africa summit, says his government is making every effort to find the girls. But he offers no evidence, is dismissive of the foreign help and argues that divulging any details could compromise the mission.
Jonathan has said repeatedly that a military operation to free the girls would probably result in the deaths of many, all but ruling it out. In the place of military action is bargaining, and Nigerian leaders have sent ambiguous signals about who is negotiating and what's on the table.
The challenge of fighting militants who casually sacrifice civilian lives in the name of religion isn't confined to Nigeria. American forces have struggled inconclusively with extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade.
The world's anger can sometimes seem a weak candle next to the flame of intolerance and murder, but in the case of the captive Nigerian schoolgirls, it's important to keep it burning....
MORE at
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/05/nigerian-schoolgirls-boko-haram-bringbackourgirls-editorials-debates/13643531/
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