Nigeria marked a solemn milestone Tuesday in the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls. Exactly 100 days after the girls were kidnapped by by Islamic extremists Boko Haram, 219 of them were still missing, a presidential committee said. In the three months since they were taken, at least 11 of their parents have died, residents told The Associated Press.
The militants have been steadfast in their attacks throughout Nigeria and have balked at international pleas to release the girls. Nearly 60 students managed to escape from the thick jungle where most of them are still believed to be captive, but the AP has reported that at least 20 others are ill, and at least two have died of snake bites. Seven of the girls' fathers were killed in a militant attack this month near their hometown of Chibok, and at least four other parents have died from heart failure and other illnesses that the community attributes to trauma from the girls' abduction. A health worker offered the AP one ray of hope: The escapees, who at first refused to talk about their experience, are now participating in music and art therapy, though they are still gravely concerned about their missing classmates.
IN-DEPTH
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SOCIAL
— Elizabeth Chuck
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
