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[h=4]World marks one year since Nigerian girls' abduction[/h]Events are taking place around the world to mark one year since Boko Haram militants abducted nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria, sparking global outrage.
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April 14 marks one year since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls. Habiba Bologun, a member of the "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign, is working hard to secure the release of the girls who are still captive. Newslook
People march during a silent protest calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, who were abducted a year ago, in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday, April 13, 2015.(Photo: Sunday Alamba, AP)
Events are taking place around the world to mark one year since Boko Haram militants abducted nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria, sparking global outrage.
The girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, in the northeast of the country, leading millions around the world to call for their return as the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag exploded on social media.
A number of girls later escaped the militants, who often force those abducted to convert to Islam and fight or work as sex slaves, but 219 remain missing.
A march and vigil will be held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Tuesday, with 219 girls taking part to represent each of the missing.
Campaigners said the Empire State Building in New York City will be lit up in purple and red over the night-time hours the girls were snatched, the Associated Press reported. Activists are now using the slogan 'Never to be Forgotten.'
USA TODAY
800,000 kids forced from homes in Boko Haram violence
Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said he cannot promise to find the schoolgirls, but said his administration will do everything in its power to do so, the AP reported.
Buhari, who was elected last month and will take office May 29, had vowed to rid the nation of Boko Haram after outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan failed to defeat the insurgents, who want to create an Islamic state.
In a statement, Buhari said: "We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them," the AP reported.
"We hear the anguish of our citizens and intend to respond accordingly," he added. "This new approach must also begin with honesty."
A file screengrab taken on May 12, 2014, from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram obtained by AFP shows girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
"On this first anniversary of your captivity, I write to you a message of solidarity, love and hope," Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai — shot in 2012 by Taliban militants opposed to the education of girls — wrote in an open letter.
Boko Haram, whose attacks on schools have forced thousands out of education, loosely translates as 'Western education is forbidden' in the Hausa language that is spoken by about 40 million people in Nigeria and in neighboring Niger.
Malala, 17, expressed her view that Nigerian leaders and the international community had not done enough to help the girls.
USA TODAY
Nigeria's new president pledges to crush Boko Haram
"I'm one of the millions of people around the world who keep you and your families foremost in our thoughts and prayers," she said. "We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured but please know this — we will never forget you.
"We will always stand with you, today and every day we call on the Nigerian authorities and the international community to do more to bring you home. We will not rest until you have been reunited with your families."
Facebook | @Bring Back Our Girls
Photos from Bring Back Our Girls's post - Bring Back Our Girls | Facebook
Amnesty International says at least 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by the extremists since the beginning of 2014.
A United Nations Children's Fund report published on Monday said an estimated 800,000 children have been forced from their homes by Boko Haram.
Last year, the group killed an estimated 10,000 people and forced about 1.5 million to flee for southern Nigeria and neighboring countries.
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