"I believe the kidnap of
these girls will be the beginning of the end for terror in Nigeria," he
said at the opening of the World Economic Forum meeting in Abuja.
The abductions and an
attack this week that left more than 300 people dead have focused
worldwide attention on Nigeria's fight with terrorists.
The world still doesn't know what happened to the 276 girls kidnapped almost a month ago, except that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said he plans to sell them.
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Now, the militants may be going after those trying to find the girls. On Thursday, Nigerian police said one
officer was wounded in the neck during a gunfight with suspected Boko
Haram militants on the road between Maiduguri and Chibok, where the
schoolgirls were abducted April 14.
And on Monday, Boko Haram
militants attacked Gamboru Ngala, a remote state capital near Nigeria's
border with Cameroon that has been used as a staging ground for troops
in the search for the girls. Some of the at least 310 victims were
burned alive.
The assault fits a
pattern of revenge-seeking by Boko Haram against those perceived to have
provided aid to the Nigerian government.
The United States,
Britain, France and China have promised to help Nigeria find the girls,
as world outrage over their plight has grown.
"Every day when I wake up
and I think about young girls in Nigeria or children caught up in the
conflict in Syria, when there are times in which I want to reach out and
save those kids. And having to think through what levers, what powers
do we have at any given moment, I think drop by drop by drop that we can
erode and wear down these forces that are so destructive," U.S.
President Barack Obama said Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Exactly how, he didn't say.
The latest assault
Witnesses described the
Gamboru Ngala attack as a well-coordinated onslaught that began shortly
after 1:30 p.m. Monday at a busy outdoor market in the town.
Wearing military uniforms, the militants arrived with three armored personnel carriers, villagers said.
The attackers shouted
"Allahu Akbar" -- "God is great" -- and opened up on the market, firing
rocket-propelled grenades into the crowd and tossing improvised
explosive devices, witnesses said.
Some marketgoers tried
to take shelter in shops only to be burned alive when the gunmen set
fire to a number of the businesses, the witnesses said.
A few Nigerian soldiers
who had been left behind at the village could not hold off the assault
and were forced to flee, they said. Many sought safe haven in nearby
Cameroon.
The fighters also
attacked the police station during the 12-hour assault, initially facing
stiff resistance. They eventually used explosives to blow the roof off
the building, witnesses said. They said 14 police officers were found
dead inside.
Residents who returned to the village said they found 310 bodies.
International effort
The attack came about
three weeks after militants snatched the 276 girls from their beds at
the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok.
And Sunday night, villagers in Warabe said Boko Haram militants snatched at least eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15.
Amid the growing international outrage, world leaders lined up to provide assistance.
The United States is
sending a team of law enforcement experts and military advisers. France
said Thursday that it would send a "specialized team" to help. The
British government is also sending a small team, Prime Minister David
Cameron's office said. Neither country said exactly what expertise their
teams would bring.
x |
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British satellites and
advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised
to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, the
Nigerian government said.
It's unlikely U.S. combat troops would be involved in operations against Boko Haram, U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday.
Nigerian police also announced a reward of about $310,000 for information leading to the girls' rescue.
'I will sell women'
The increased global response came after a chilling video described what may happen to the girls.
A man claiming to be Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, made the following claim:
"I abducted your girls. I
will sell them in the market, by Allah," he said. "There is a market
for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I
will sell women. I sell women."
Boko Haram translates to
"Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language. The group has
said it wants a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most
populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a
mostly Christian south.
The militants have even been known to kill Muslim clerics who dare criticize them.
The United States has
branded Boko Haram a terror organization and has put a $7 million bounty
on Shekau. But his location is as uncertain as the whereabouts of the
girls.
Via - CNN
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