Boko Haram and Nigeria Negotiating Release of Kidnapped School Girls, Says Report

ALLEN MCDUFFEE* [caption id="attachment_12203" align="alignleft" width="675"] A woman attends a demonstration in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday Sept. 11, 2014, calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok. (AP PHOTO/OLAMIKAN GBEMIGA)[/caption] Officials from the Nigerian government and representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross have had talks with senior members of the Islamic terror organization Boko Haram — a set of negotiations that aim to swap prisoners for more than 200 school girls kidnapped in April. According to a report from CNN, who spoke to a source directly involved in the negotiations, government officials and representatives from the Red Cross met with two senior members from Boko Haram four times in August in the capital city of Abuja. Although a deal has not been finalized, the trade would include releasing 30 Boko Haram commanders currently held by the Nigerian government, according to the CNN source. In April, the terror group abducted nearly 300 girls from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens of the girls escaped, but Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 captive. Friday, a young Nigerian woman who escaped Boko Haram recalled her story for an audience of policymakers in Washington, DC. In May, Michelle Obama brought significant national attention to the issue when she took a message to Twitter with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, but the campaign did not keep sustained attention on the matter. *Source thewire]]>