MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ahead of the third anniversary of the abduction of almost 300 children in Nigeria by Boko Haram, a group that claimed allegiance to Daesh terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia), a number of UN human rights experts have made a new appeal to the Nigerian Government to take all measures necessary to rescue the 195 girls still missing.
"As more and more time passes there is a risk that the fate of the remaining girls will be forgotten. We cannot allow this to happen. There must be more that the Government of Nigeria, with the support of the international community, can do to locate and rescue them. Their continued captivity is a source of immense pain for their families and communities, and is simply unacceptable," the statement said.
In April 2014, 276 female students were abducted by Boko Haram from a government secondary school in the eastern Nigerian town of Chibok. Of those kidnapped, 57 escaped over the first few months and 24 were either released or found over the next three years. A total of 195 girls are still missing.
Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group which began large-scale attacks in northeastern Nigeria in 2009. In 2011, the group carried out a bombing of the UN office in Abuja, an incident which claimed 21 lives and left over 70 people injured. In 2015, Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to IS, thus expanding its attacks into neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
