Boko Haram have denied that they
had agreed to a ceasefire in a new video obtained yesterday by AFP, describing
the Nigerian government claims as a lie and apparently ruling out future talks.
The group’s leader, Abubakar
Shekau, also claimed the 219 schoolgirls kidnapped from the remote northeast
town of Chibok, in Borno state, in April had converted to Islam and been married
off.
Then, the militant leader said
many of the girls had converted to Islam but in the latest, he indicated that
all of those held had become Muslims.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT................................
“Don’t you know the over 200
Chibok schoolgirls have converted to Islam? They have now memorised two
chapters of the Koran,” he said.
Shekau previously threatened to
sell the girls as slave brides and also suggested that he would be prepared to
release them in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners.
In the latest message, he said
while laughing: “We have married them off. They are in their marital homes.”
Human Rights Watch said in a
report published this week that Boko Haram was holding upwards of 500 women and
young girls and that forced marriage was commonplace in the militant camps.
One former hostage said she saw
some of the Chibok girls forced to cook and clean for other women and girls who
had been chosen for “special treatment because of their beauty”.
No comments:
Post a Comment