US joins hunt for abducted Nigerian schoolgirls

BBC Online :
A team of US experts has been sent to Nigeria to help find more than 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
US President Barack Obama said the team comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies.
He said he hoped the kidnapping might galvanise the international community to take action against Boko Haram.
Earlier, it emerged that eight more girls had been abducted in north-eastern Nigeria by suspected militants.
The latest kidnapping happened on Sunday night in the village of Warabe in Borno state. The girls taken were aged between 12 and 15.
A further three girls have since been seized from another nearby village, a local official told the AFP news agency.
On Monday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened to “sell” more than 230 girls seized from their school, also in Borno, on 14 April.
The US deployment comes as the World Economic Forum for Africa is being held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, amid tight security, following two recent attacks there blamed on Boko Haram.
Several African leaders are expected to attend, along with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Schools and government offices have been closed.
Growing international outrage led the US to offer the Nigerian government help and, on Tuesday, Obama confirmed that the offer had been accepted.