A hostage negotiator who is allegedly in contact with the kidnappers of the more than 200 Borno schoolgirls has reported that their safe release is within reach and terrorists are demanding a ransom.
"The girls, we believe, are alive but they have been moved from the location to which they were originally taken," the negotiator told Channel 4 News. "It would not be hard to engineer a deal. It looks like they want to release them."
The source however said the kidnappers have warned that attempts by the military to launch a rescue attempt "may result in the deaths of many of the captives."
It was also revealed that rival factions within the terrorist group are arguing over what to do with the hostages, as the girls have been split into smaller separate groups, and taken to Chad and Cameroon and are being transported conspicuously.
“They have 220 captives and moving that many girls around cannot remain hidden. There is good, reliable, local knowledge as to their location. The military knows where they are,” said the source.
Public fury in Nigeria is focused on the government's perceived failure to respond to the hostage crisis. Today, some women took to the streets in Abuja to protest the missing schoolgirls and demand their release.
http://www.infonubia.com/2014/04/chibok-schoolgirls-are-safe-and-deal-is-within-reach-hostage-negotiator-claims.html |