#BringBackOurGirls: Negotiations For Chibok Girls' Release Are Ongoing – US

A US official has said that negotiations are currently ongoing to secure the release of the schoolgirls who were abducted from Chibok, Borno State in April. According to a US official, negotiations are currently ongoing to secure the release of the abducted Chibok girls. The official confirmed yesterday that a ceasefire deal » had indeed been reached between Nigeria and Boko Haram but the terms under which the girls’ would receive their freedom were still being discussed, AFP reports. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said: "We can confirm reports that a ceasefire has been announced, (and) appears to have been put into place." "We would welcome that ceasefire, call on all parties both to implement and maintain such a ceasefire, and hope that such a ceasefire would herald the return of peace to the northeast.” "This is a region that has had far too little of that." Harf however added that Washington understood the arrangement to mean that “the negotiations about a deal to release the girls continue." The ceasefire was announced by Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh and confirmed by the Defence Headquarters but the strength of the agreement has been doubted » due to continuing attacks by the sect » and counter attacks by Nigerian troops » .