The United States said yesterday that it is concerned that many of the
276 schoolgirls kidnapped in northern Nigeria three weeks ago have been
moved out of the country.
State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, shared Washington's
assessment after local officials in Northeastern told AFP that the girls
had likely been taken to nearby Chad or Cameroon.
The Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for
taking the girls from school, and its leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared
his plan to sell them as slaves in a video released Monday.
"Many of them have likely been moved out of the country to neighboring
countries," Harf said, responding to reporters' questions as news of the
abduction began to climb up the world news agenda.
Harf said Washington provides Nigeria with "counter-terrorism
assistance" in the form of intelligence sharing and was standing by to
assist "in any way we think that is appropriate."
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