Report: New video shows missing Nigeria schoolgirls

ABUJA, Nigeria — More than 100 of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped a month ago are shown dressed in full-length, black veils in a video released Monday by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

The authenticity of the 17-minute video, released to French newswire Agence France Presse and the Associated Press, has not been confirmed, and it is not clear when the footage was taken. It shows the girls – about half the number of students still missing – praying in hijabs at an undisclosed location.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said that the girls, who are Christians, have converted to Islam. He offered to trade them for the group's members imprisoned by the government.

"It is now four years or five years that you arrested our brethren and they are still in your prison," Shekau said in the video. "(The girls) are staying (with us). We won't ever release them until our brethren are released."

Boko Haram, which translates to "Western education is forbidden," abducted more than 200 girls from a secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state. They have been held and their fates unknown for weeks amid speculation that some of the girls may have been taken over the borders with Chad and Cameroon.

In Chibok, parents were hoping to watch the video and identify their daughters, said one of the town's civil leaders, Pogu Bitrus.

"There's an atmosphere of hope, hope that these girls are alive, whether they have been forced to convert to Islam or not," he told the Associated Press.

The terror group has killed thousands of people since 2009, destabilizing parts of Nigeria, one of Africa's biggest economies. Last week, the Islamist militants opened fire at a marketplace near the town of Gamboru Ngala on the border with Cameroon, killing as many as 300 people.

The abduction of the girls has sparked international outrage. First lady Michelle Obama has joined the global social media campaign under the hashtag #bringbackourgirls.

The Nigerians, who initially called the kidnappings an internal matter, have now accepted international assistance from the U.S., Britain, France and Israel. The Nigerian government, meanwhile, has offered $300,000 for information leading to the rescue of the girls.

Nigerian authorities are under fire at home and abroad for their slow response to the kidnappings. Amnesty international accused Nigeria of knowing about the plan to kidnap the girls in advance and failing to act.

On Monday, French President Francois Hollande announced a meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to focus on Boko Haram's unchecked influence in Nigeria's northern region and what can be done to curtail it. Analysts say it is about time.

"The perception by the Nigerian public is that their entire country has now been hijacked by this group, simply because the group attacks very much at will, and seems to have the ability to appear and disappear," said U.K.-based Africa analyst Ayo Johnson. Johnson said it appears locals and communities are harboring the group.

Jonathan has said that Boko Haram "has infiltrated the government, it has infiltrated the police, the security forces and even the Cabinet."

Locals retort that the government has been ignoring them for too long.

The people of the region have long felt they are being punished because they (don't vote the president's party)," said Sen. Ali Ndume, who represents the region. "The government needs to do something before (more violence takes place)."

Over the weekend, Jonathan said he was optimistic that the girls would be found.

On Monday, the European Union threw its weight behind a possible intervention from the United Nations Security Council that is weighing taking measures against Boko Haram.

"The EU will work to end the culture of impunity for the use of sexual violence both as a tool and a side effect of conflict worldwide," an EU foreign affairs council statement said.

U.S. and British security experts have joined the Nigerian army in the search.

Contributing: Jad Salfiti in Berlin; Kim Hjelmgaard in London.