France offers Nigeria help to rescue kidnapped girls
France on Wednesday offered Nigeria a "special team" to look for the more than 200 girls kidnapped by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
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"A special team with all our resources in the region is at the disposal of Nigeria to help in the search and recovery of these young girls," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament.
France already has troops on the ground in Mali not far away.
Boko Haram seized a large group of schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria three weeks ago and the group has since kidnapped other girls in the area. They say they are holding them as "slaves" and intend to “sell” them
The kidnappings have sparked international revulsion and other countries have also offered help to try to find the girls.
Washington has deployed military experts to Nigeria and Britain has offered unspecified practical help.
Earlier on Wednesday, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll denounced the kidnappings as "one of the most atrocious forms of terrorism because it involves kidnapping and trafficking children."
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