Abducted Chibok girls
BRITAIN’s
Royal Air Force plans to send three fighter jets to help in locating
the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on
April 14 this year.
The RAF Tornado GR4s equipped with
surveillance facilities, according to Daily Mail on Wednesday, will
undertake “reconnaissance missions” over the Sambissa Forest where the
girls are believed to be held.
A British government source told The
Times that the jets would help the Nigerian authorities in tracking the
movements of the insurgents.
The report however added that the
mission was dependent on a nearby nation giving the British government
the nod to use its runway.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman did not deny the report about the deployment of the planes.
He said, “The United Kingdom continues
to work with the United States and France as well as Nigeria’s
neighbours and international partners to provide advice and assistance
to the Nigerian government.
“Together with our allies we have
provided continuous surveillance support to the Nigerian authorities,
including satellite imagery. We are still in discussion with partners on
the deployment of further surveillance capability.”
Last Friday, Britain’s Minister for
Africa, James Duddridge, had condemned the abduction of over 100 people
in Nigeria and had pledged that the UK would continue to support in the
fight against Boko Haram.
He said, “I am appalled to see reports
of another large abduction by terrorists in the North- East of Nigeria.
Officials at the British High Commission in Abuja are urgently looking
into the details. The UK stands firmly with Nigeria as it faces the
scourge of Boko Haram.”
The group on Monday killed at least three people and kidnapped 15 others in a fresh cross-border attack in northern Cameroon.
“The attack took place on Monday
afternoon when at least 20 armed men tried to get food supplies,
stealing all the [food] stocks found in the Cameroonian village of
Greya,” the source told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
The source added, “Boko Haram militants
killed at least three civilians and abducted a dozen others – presumably
all Cameroonians.’’
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