Some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls have been killed in Nigerian military air strikes, according to a new video appearing to come from Boko Haram Islamic extremists, which shows one of the alleged victims pleading for authorities to release detained militants so the girls can be freed.
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The militant group has said that the girls will not be released until the government releases Boko Haram prisoners.
“They should know that their children are still in our hands”, said a man whose face was covered by a turban in the video posted on YouTube.
Initially 276 girls were snatched by the Nigerian terror group, but 57 have since managed to escape.
BBC reports that the new – and as yet unverified – footage appears to show around 50 of the schoolgirls.
Nearly two years have passed since the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram.
It is the third video to have emerged of the girls following their abduction more than two years ago.
“Some of them have died as a result of aerial bombardment”.
Throughout 2015, the Nigerian military announced the rescue of hundreds of people, a lot of them women and children, who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram.
“This focuses on using the girls as a bargaining chip”, said Ryan Cummings, director at intelligence firm Signal Risk.
News24 previously reported that the Nigerian Army has uncovered plans by Boko Haram to bomb locations in Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Katsina, Imo, Yobe and Borno states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
Throughout 2015, the Nigerian military announced the rescue of hundreds of people, majority women and children, who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram. Some 218 remain missing in the abduction that shocked the world and even got US first lady Michelle Obama to participate in the #Bring Back Our Girls social media campaign, promising her husband would do all in his power to help liberate them.
CNN can not confirm the authenticity of this video.
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Boko Haram has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and the displacing of more than 2.6 million people since it launched a brutal insurgency in Nigeria in 2009.
