Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 8 May 2017

Chibok schoolgirls swapped for 5 Boko Haram commanders

capital, where they were scribable horror and trau-
expected to meet the ma they have suffered at
president in the evening. the hands of Boko Haram,”
The International Com- said Pernille Ironside, act-
mittee of the Red Cross, ing representative of UNI-
which along with the Swiss CEF Nigeria.
government mediated Authorities say 113 school-
the Nigerian government’s girls remain missing from
negotiations with Boko the group of 276 abducted
Haram, said Sunday that from their boarding school
the girls soon would meet in April 2014.
with their families. Girls who escaped early
The Rev. Enoch Mark, on said some of their class-
whose two daughters have mates had died from ill-
been among the missing, ness. Others did not want
was still waiting word if they to come home because
were among those freed. they’d been radicalized by
He emphasized though their captors, they said.
that he considered all 82 of Human rights advocates
the girls to be his daughters also fear some of the
“because most of them girls kidnapped from the
worship in my church.” Chibok boarding school
‘Bring Back Our Girls’ campaigners celebrate the release of the kidnapped Chibok school girls “Three years is not three have been used by Boko
at the unity fountain in Abuja, Nigeria, Sunday, May 7, 2017. Five Boko Haram commanders were days,” he said. Haram to carry out suicide
released in exchange for the freedom of 82 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the extremist group
three years ago, a Nigerian government official said Sunday, as the girls were expected to meet “I have to be anxious with bombings.
with the country’s president and their families. the intention to see if one Last year, a first group of
(AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) of my daughters is among 21 Chibok girls was freed
the released ones.” in October, and they have
By BASHIR ADIGUN and their families. Haram, which has links to Some parents did not live been in government care
Associated Press The confirmation of the pris- the Islamic State group. long enough to see their in Abuja for medical at-
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Five oner swap came a day af- President Muhammadu Bu- daughters released, under- tention, trauma counseling
Boko Haram command- ter the young women were hari’s office said Saturday scoring the tragedy of the and rehabilitation.
ers were released in ex- liberated. that “some” Boko Haram three-year-long saga. And Human rights groups have
change for the freedom The official spoke on condi- suspects in detention had the recovery process is ex- criticized the decision to
of 82 Chibok schoolgirls tion of anonymity as he was been released for the free- pected to be a long one keep the girls in custody
kidnapped by the extrem- not authorized to speak to dom of the schoolgirls, but for the girls, many of whom in Abuja, nearly 900 kilo-
ist group three years ago, a reporters on the matter. it did not give details. endured sexual assault dur- meters (560 miles) from
Nigerian government offi- There was no immediate The young women were ing their time in captivity. Chibok.It was not imme-
cial said Sunday, as the girls comment about the ex- flown Sunday by military “They will face a long and diately clear whether the
were expected to meet change from the Nige- helicopters from northeast- difficult process to rebuild newly freed girls would join
with the country’s president rian presidency or Boko ern Nigeria to Abuja, the their lives after the inde- them. q
North Korea detains another American over alleged hostile acts

By KIM TONG-HYUNG of an accounting instructor highest priorities.” It said he was “intercept- have involved high-profile
Associated Press at the same university, Kim Kim Hak Song is among at ed for committing crimi- American missions sent to
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Sang Dok, for “acts of hos- least four Americans being nal acts” to overthrow the secure the release of the
North Korea on Sunday said tility aimed to overturn” the detained in North Korea. North’s government, but Americans.When an Ameri-
it detained another Ameri- country. The KCNA didn’t The others are Otto Warm- didn’t elaborate. can citizen is reported de-
can citizen over unspeci- say whether the two cases bier, serving a 15-year pris- The Pyongyang University tained, the U.S. works with
fied hostile acts against the are connected. on term with hard labor of Science and Technol- the Swedish Embassy in
country. “A relevant institution is now for alleged anti-state acts, ogy is the only privately the North Korean capital,
North Korea’s official Ko- conducting detailed inves- and Kim Dong Chul, serving funded university in North since the U.S. and the North
rean Central News Agency tigation into his crimes,” the a 10-year term with hard la- Korea and is unique for do not have diplomatic
said Kim Hak Song, an em- KCNA said about Kim Hak bor for alleged espionage. having a large number of relations.North Korea’s an-
ployee of the Pyongyang Song.In Washington, the Kim Sang Dok, the former foreign staff.Washington, nouncement of the detain-
University of Science and State Department said it accounting instructor at Seoul and others often ments comes amid tensions
Technology, was detained was aware of the report of the Pyongyang university, accuse North Korea of us- over fears that Pyongyang
Saturday. the new detention and that was arrested at the Pyong- ing foreign detainees to is preparing another round
North Korea on Wednesday “the security of U.S. citizens yang International Airport wrest diplomatic conces- of nuclear or missile tests
announced the detention is one of the department’s on April 22, the KCNA said. sions, which in recent years and comments. q