The militant group Boko Haram released a video on Sunday purporting to show the bodies of several kidnapped schoolgirls who fighters claim were killed by Nigerian airstrikes.
A masked, camouflaged fighter who appeared in the 11½-minute video said many of the schoolgirls had died in the strikes, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant jihadist groups. The unidentified fighter also demanded the release of imprisoned militants in exchange for the release of the girls.
The strikes are part of a broader offensive by the Nigerian military to rid the region of Boko Haram.
The abduction of more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok, a small village in northeastern Nigeria, more than two years ago set off global outrage and a social media campaign using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls that got the attention of Michelle Obama. Hundreds of other girls and boys have also been kidnapped and murdered by the group.
There was no immediate comment from the government or the military about the video, although President Muhammadu Buhari said last year that he was open to negotiating with the group.
A spokesman for the Bring Back Our Girls campaign said the video appeared to be legitimate, noting that families of those kidnapped had recognized eight of the girls who appeared in the clip.
“We are still reaching out to some parents to see if any can recognize more,” said Jeff Okoroafor, the spokesman for the group, which regularly holds rallies in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, to demand that the government find and rescue the girls.
The video is among a handful that Boko Haram has posted online in recent days, as the militant group appears to have split into two factions, apparently over the killing of other Muslims and whether fellow believers should be spared.
The group has targeted mosques and markets with suicide bombers, some of whom are young girls and boys. Hundreds of Muslims have been killed.
Boko Haram pledged support to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, last year, and two primary factions have emerged. One faction has been recognized by the Islamic State, which broadcast an interview with a new “governor” of the group, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, in its online publication.
Abubakar Shekau had been leading Boko Haram but had not been heard from in months until the release of a voice recording on Aug. 3.
Jacob Zenn, a security analyst and an African affairs specialist at the Jamestown Foundation, a research organization based in Washington, said it appeared that the girls in the video were in the custody of Mr. Shekau’s group. Logos seen in the video and a reference to Mr. Shekau as the leader indicated that it was produced by his faction, he said.
Mr. Shekau’s faction “has significant logistics capabilities if it has been able to keep so many of the world’s most sought-after girls hidden and captive for more than two years now,” Mr. Zenn said.
Many analysts believe the girls have been divided among Boko Haram fighters and are scattered throughout the Sambisa Forest, where the Nigerian military has stepped up its offensive against the militants in a battle that has recently included airstrikes.
In the video, the camera pans across a group of somber-faced girls cloaked in robes with hair coverings. At least one is holding a small child, a troubling reminder of fears that the girls have been forced to marry militants.
The video cuts to a fighter in camouflage standing before them, calling on the government to release fighters. He conducts a brief interview with one of the girls, as others are grouped behind them.
The last few minutes of the video show what appear to be the bodies of several dead girls.
Earlier this year, members of Nigeria’s civilian militia found one of the kidnapped Chibok girls wandering in the forest.
The girl, Amina Ali, was found with a baby and man claiming to be her husband, although the government said he was a member of Boko Haram. She told her family that the other girls from Chibok were still in the forest and that six of them had died.
Source: New York Times
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