Recent attacks in Nigeria after a reported ceasefire and negotiation was reached with Boko Haram, the Islamist terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the abduction of 200 schoolgirls from a northeastern-Nigerian village, have dashed the hopes of some parents who were hoping to see their daughters, who have been missing since April.
According to Reuters, Nigeria's armed forces chief, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who announced a ceasefire Friday, also noted that the 200 schoolgirls, whose kidnapping from the village of Chibok led to the celebrity-filled social media campaign #bringbackourgirls, were to be released.
But, the news service notes, since Friday there have been at least five reported attacks that have injured many and killed dozens. Boko Haram has also not confirmed the ceasefire, according to Reuters.
"We were jubilating. We had every reason to be happy … but since then, the ceasefire has been broken in quite a number of places already," Lawan Abana, a parent of the one of the missing girls, told Reuters. Abana told the news service that he isn't sure that the person reported to be brokering the release of the girls for Boko Haram, Danladi Ahmadu, can be trusted.
"Can we trust him that he can deliver on this promise of releasing the girls when he has not delivered on the promise of the ceasefire?" Abana said.
Nigerian officials cautioned that the recent spate of violence may not be coming from Boko Haram but, in fact, " … several criminal groups exploiting the chaos of its insurgency." Officials also told parents not to lose hope, since the Islamist terrorist organization is deeply fractured, with several groups operating independently. What matters for the schoolgirls' release is that the Nigerian government has been negotiating with the faction that controls their fate, Reuters reports.
"It is quite possible that Abuja has reached an agreement with a legitimate representative of a specific cell … that holds the kidnapped schoolgirls captive," risk consultancy company Stratfor told Reuters.
According to the news service, talks were scheduled to continue in neighboring Chad on Monday.
Read more at Reuters.