NIGERIA/US: U.S. Under Secretary visits Nigeria as hunt for missing girls continues
Record ID:
236719
NIGERIA/US: U.S. Under Secretary visits Nigeria as hunt for missing girls continues
- Title: NIGERIA/US: U.S. Under Secretary visits Nigeria as hunt for missing girls continues
- Date: 13th May 2014
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (MAY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) OFFICIALS ENTERING MEETING ROOM DELEGATES SEATED IN MEETING ROOM UNITED STATES UNDER SECRETARY, SARAH SEWALL, AND NIGERIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AMINU WALI, IN MEETING SEWALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS, SARAH SEWALL, SAYING: "My visit is a long-planned visit, it coincides with this very sober moment, and the crisis with the hostages. The incident only underscores the enduring nature of the Boko Haram terrorist challenge here in Nigeria with which you have struggled and against whom the United States wishes to support you in your efforts, because they are very important, not simply for the citizens of the north east and throughout the country, but for the international community, because the scourge of Boko Haram has continued to spread to neighbouring regions and it has become an issue that has really been highlighted in this recent incident as deserving greater international attention." VARIOUS OF DELEGATES LISTENING SEWALL LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NIGERIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AMINU WALI, SAYING: "Nigeria has been dealing with this situation of Boko Haram for quite a few years, which we all know. But unfortunately it took Chibok and the girls to really bring to the attention of the international community what we have been struggling with all these years. We have put all the resources and our capacity to try to combat and contain the situation and of course thanks to the support that we have been getting from the United States." VARIOUS OF DELEGATES LISTENING MEETING IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 28th May 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAB435SOEMHE4DCZBH6Q5F68Y9U
- Story Text: A top U.S. official condemned the 'scourge of Boko Haram' during a visit to Nigeria on Tuesday (May 13).
Under Secretary of State, Sarah Sewall, was visiting the African country a month after over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, sparking an international hunt for the students.
Sewall said the incident had put Boko Haram in the spotlight.
"My visit is a long-planned visit, it coincides with this very sober moment, and the crisis with the hostages. The incident only underscores the enduring nature of the Boko Haram terrorist challenge here in Nigeria with which you have struggled and against whom the United States wishes to support you in your efforts, because they are very important, not simply for the citizens of the north east and throughout the country, but for the international community, because the scourge of Boko Haram has continued to spread to neighbouring regions and it has become an issue that has really been highlighted in this recent incident as deserving greater international attention," she said after a meeting with Nigerian government officials.
The mass abduction of the girls from their boarding school in Chibok has caused international outrage and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's government has faced criticism from parents and others for its slow response.
Thousands of Nigerian troops have been sent to the region, while the United States and Britain also have teams on the ground to help with the search.
The girls' exact whereabouts and whether they are being held in one or more groups is not known. Chibok is close to Nigeria's border with Cameroon, Niger and Chad in a sparsely populated area of the Sahel region.
Nigerian foreign minister, Aminu Wali, said the Boko Haram group had been active in the country for a long time.
"Nigeria has been dealing with this situation of Boko Haram for quite a few years, which we all know. But unfortunately it took Chibok and the girls to really bring to the attention of the international community what we have been struggling with all these years. We have put all the resources and our capacity to try to combat and contain the situation and of course thanks to the support that we have been getting from the United States," he said.
Boko Haram launched its most lethal attack in January 2012 when at least 186 people died in Kano in coordinated bombings and shootings.
A bombing at the U.N. building in Abuja killed 23 people in August 2011.
The group demands the adoption of sharia (Islamic law) across Nigeria and considers all who do not follow its ideology as infidels, whether Muslim or Christian. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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