On the night of April 14,
2014, hundreds of schoolgirls at the Chibok boarding school in
northeastern Nigeria awoke to the sound of gunfire. They saw men in
camouflage approaching and thought soldiers were coming to save them
from a militant attack, according to survivors' accounts.
Instead, more than 270 of the schoolgirls
found themselves in the clutches of the Islamist militant group Boko
Haram. Their abduction sparked global outrage and a huge campaign
calling for their rescue, partly propelled by the hashtag
#BringBackOurGirls.
Sunday marks five months since the girls were kidnapped. Here's what has happened since.
Not one student has been rescued
In the first days after the abduction, 57 of the girls managed to escape from their captors. But not one has escaped or been rescued since then.
Even though they were reportedly located months ago
In May, a Nigerian military official claimed he knew where the girls were being held. A month later, U.S. surveillance planes also spotted a group that officials believed to be the girls.
Stephen Davis, an Australian cleric and mediator, said in June
that a deal to free the girls had fallen apart three different times in
one month. He says that powerful people with "vested interests" are
working to sabotage a deal, and he has accused Nigerian politicians of funding Boko Haram. Nigeria's government has defended its approach to the crisis and warned that a rescue effort might risk the girls' lives.
Other countries have made little progress
When other countries did start to help, they didn't get very far. The U.S. sent 80 troops in late May to
coordinate an aerial search from neighboring Chad. Canada, France, Israel and the U.K.
also sent special forces to Nigeria. But six weeks later, the Pentagon press secretary
announced
that the U.S. mission would be scaled back, saying: "We don't have any
better idea today than we did before about where these girls are."
Meanwhile, the girls' hometown is still in danger
Residents in Chibok face the unrelenting threat of an attack by militants. In June, a
Boko Haram offensive on nearby villages crept within three miles of the town where the girls were kidnapped.
And Boko Haram violence rages on
Since April, Boko Haram
claims
to have taken over at least five towns in northeastern Nigeria,
although the military says it has won some of these back. The militant
group has also
kidnapped at least three more smaller groups of girls as well as dozens of
boys and young men -- some of whom were later rescued.
Nigeria’s military has buckled under pressure...
Nigeria's
military appears ill-equipped to deal with the challenge. Complaining
of a lack of weapons, at least 40 Nigerian soldiers reportedly
refused orders to fight Boko Haram in August. And during recent attacks by Boko Haram in border towns, at least 600 Nigerian soldiers
reportedly fled to Cameroon. The army claimed that some of the troops were
performing a tactical maneuver.
...And been accused of grave human rights abuses
Nigeria's security forces and state-sponsored militias have long
been accused
of horrific abuses, including kidnappings, torture and extrajudicial
killings. Following the government's most recent crackdown on Boko
Haram, evidence has emerged that authorities have
tortured and
killed countless civilians accused of being connected to the militant group.
While the country worries about its image problem
Nigeria's government
paid a Washington public relations firm
more than $1.2 million to change the media narrative surrounding the
schoolgirls' abduction, according to a June report by The Hill. The
country's president, Goodluck Jonathan, recently faced severe backlash
after a group campaigning for his reelection started using the hashtag
#BringBackGoodluck2015, sparking outrage among groups still campaigning
for the girls' return.
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