Nigeria intensifies search for missing girls

Nigeria’s army has stepped up the hunt for hundreds of schoolgirls, abducted last month by rebel group Boko Haram, in an attack condemned globally.

The country’s Defence Headquarters said on Saturday that two divisions of the military were now stationed in the border regions close to Chad, Cameroon and Niger to work with other security agencies.

At least 10 army search teams were trying to track down the girls in the remote far northeast, border guards were on high alert and the air force had so far flown at least 250 sorties.

Teams from the US, UK and China had also arrived in Nigeria to assist with the search. They included specialist teams in areas that include intelligence gathering, satellite imagery and hostage negotiations.

At least 200 schoolgirls remain missing and the government’s slow response to the abduction has led to protests around the country. 

Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade on Saturday also denied separate reports on Friday by Al Jazeera and Amnesty International that the Nigerian military had received advance warnings of the attack on the Chibok school, describing the reports as “unfounded”.