Chibok schoolgirls face rape danger says UN

The UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict says the abducted Nigerian schoolgirls "definitely" face the danger of being raped.

"My worry is those girls don't come back half of them pregnant," Zainab Hawa Bangura told a luncheon at the British Residence in New York on Friday.

She was meeting with editors, Tina Brown and the British ambassador to the US in preparation for a global summit next week in London on sexual violence in conflict. Angelina Jolie and British Foreign Secretary William Hague will co-chair.

African Union Intensified search for kidnapped Chibok girls

The African Union is involved in intensifying efforts to find more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram two months ago, its Ugandan ambassador said Friday in New York. Asked what the AU was doing to help, Mull Katende said it was engaged in "quiet diplomacy, because some of this information, we don't want it to reach those who abducted the children."

"We look forward to their recovery as soon as possible, and all heads of state of the African Union have offered their support," he said after talks between AU and UN counterparts in New York.

The Ugandan diplomat said Nigeria could learn a lesson from his own country's 20-year war against Lords Resistance Army rebels, "on how to isolate Boko Haram from the population."

#BringBackOurGirls: 3 Abducted Girls Dead, 18 Others Now Sick – Channel 4 News

The Boko Haram jihadis who kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls two weeks ago say they are “willing to consider” the release of those who have not already been trafficked abroad and sold into marriage.

The girls’ abductors, who have been in regular direct contact with a government intermediary, also report that three of their teenaged captives have died – although they did not state how this happened. Eighteen others, they say, are now sick.

The intermediary told Channel 4 News that the al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Boko Haram, has threatened to kill the remaining hostages if there is any attempt by the Nigerian military to rescue the girls. Meanwhile in the capital Abuja, the Nigerian government is coming under intense public pressure to secure the girls’ release.

On Wednesday, the government admitted for the first time that it had officially engaged the services of the negotiator. It declined to reveal his identity. He has told Channel 4 News that he wishes to remain anonymous for reasons of personal security.