Nigeria, Boko Haram reach ceasefire deal, kidnapped girls to go free, official says (CNN) -- The Nigerian government has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram that includes the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, a Nigerian presidential spokesman said Friday. The agreement was reached Thursday night after a month of negotiations with representatives of the group, said Hassan Tukur, principal secretary to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. We have agreed on the release of the Chibok schoolgirls, and we expect to conclude on that at our next meeting with the groups representative next week in Chad, Tukur said. Boko Haram hostages freed in Cameroon ISIS and religious justification Have missing Nigerian girls been spotted? The agreement was first reported by Agence France-Presse. READ: What is Boko Haram? The terrorist group abducted an estimated 276 girls in April from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 are still missing. Nigerian officials met with Boko Haram in Chad twice during talks mediated by Chadian President Idriss Deby, according to Tukur. The group has shown willingness to abide by the agreement which it demonstrated with the release of the Chinese and Cameroonian hostages few days ago, Tukur said. A source involved in the talks told CNN last month that Nigerian government officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross had discussions with Boko Haram about swapping imprisoned members of the group for the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls. Its unclear, however, whether the deal includes a prisoner swap. READ: Where are the missing girls? The name Boko Haram translates to Western education is sin in the local Hausa language. The militant group is trying to impose strict Sharia law across Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. In recent years, its attacks have intensified in an apparent show of defiance amid the nations military onslaught. Its ambitions appear to have expanded to the destruction of the Nigerian government. Boko Haram: Nigeria\s crisis Boko Haram: Nigerias crisis Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls The militant group has bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders alike. The group has said its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south. Boko Haram was founded 12 years ago by Mohammed Yusuf, a charismatic cleric who called for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria. Police killed him in 2009 in an incident captured on video and posted to the Internet. cnn/2014/10/17/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-ceasefire/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:12:44 +0000
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