Boko Haram Releases Video Of Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls

A new video has emerged purportedly showing around 50 of the schoolgirls kidnapped from the Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago. The video was released by Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for abducting 276 girls from a school in 2014. It features a masked militant holding a gun and standing in front of the group of young women, the BBC reports. In the video, a man conducts a staged interview with one of the students, who, according to the BBC, says "many of the girls have been badly injured in military air strikes." In addition, she asks that the government release prisoners in exchange for the girls — which includes her — to be set free.

More than 200 of the kidnapped girls remain missing today. Many are thought to have been sexually abused, and around 40 are said to have been forced into "marrying" their captors, according to the BBC. One of the girls sends a message to parents in the video, asking them to "please be patient," according to The Guardian. "There is no kind of suffering we haven’t seen. Our sisters are injured; some of them have wounds on their heads and bodies. Tell the government to give them [Boko Haram] their people, so we can come home to you," she says. A father of one of the girls told the BBC he saw his daughter in the video. "I have watched the video several times. I saw her sitting down," said Samuel Yaga, father of schoolgirl Serah Samuel. The end of the video shows dead bodies lying on the ground, said to be those killed by air strikes.

The Nigerian government said it is trying its best to work towards the girls' release — the girls are currently thought to be in northern Nigeria. The government said it is in talks with the militants behind the video, but that it needs to be sure the officials are speaking to the right people, the BBC adds. "We are being extremely careful because the situation has been compounded by the split in the leadership of Boko Haram," said Nigerian Information Minister Alhaji Mohammed. "We are also being guided by the need to ensure the safety of the girls."