Official: Freeing Nigerian girls a top US priority

Freeing 276 Nigerian girls from the terrorist group Boko Haram, is now one of US government's top priorities, US officials declared today, issuing warnings about the militant group's expanding reach and growing capacity for more sophisticated and deadlier terror attacks.
At the same time, the officials lamented limitations on Us cooperation and intelligence sharing with the Nigerian military due to human rights concerns and legal restrictions. They also expressed concern about the Nigerian government's commitment and army's ability to combat the group.
Robert Jackson, a State Department specialist on Africa, said that Boko Haram "has no regard for human life." He said the Obama administration was boosting Nigeria's intelligence and law enforcement capabilities, while seeking global sanctions on Boko Haram at the United Nations.

The girls' abduction last month from a school in the remote Nigerian town of Chibok triggered global outrage. The extremist Islamist militants have threatened to sell the girls into slavery.
"Resolving this crisis is now one of the highest priorities of the US government. Boko Haram has been killing innocent people in Nigeria for some time, and the attack at Chibok is part of that long, terrible trend," Jackson told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee.
"The group has killed more than 1,000 people this year in attacks on schools, churches and mosques and now poses a growing threat to neighbouring Cameroon," he added.

Testifying alongside Jackson, Alice Friend, the Defense Department's principal director for Africa, said "Boko Haram was becoming more dangerous by the day. The group has proven it is capable of directly and successfully engaging Nigeria's armed forces," she said.

Friend added that the US has programs to help Nigeria's counter terrorism efforts. These include operations to snuff out bomb plots and provide better coordination between civilian leaders and the military. The US also is trying to foster greater cooperation with neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Pressed by Sen Jeff Flake, a Republican; Friend acknowledged that US assistance was being hampered by American restrictions on providing any military aid or training to security units even suspected of gross human rights violations.

Jackson said an 18-member US team began working in Nigeria earlier this week to provide law enforcement and intelligence assistance. The effort includes manned plane flights and drones. He said the administration was urging Nigeria to better protect human rights as it fights terrorism.