Nigeria's military leaders say they're focusing their energy on rescuing the 276 school girls kidnapped by the terror group Boko Haram, and they predict their war on the Islamists will succeed.
But those words provide little comfort to victims of the group, which is on a mission to turn Nigeria into an Islamic caliphate.
A former Nigerian army colonel described Boko Haram as a monster that needs to be dealt with.
***Why is Boko Haram targeting school girls? CBN's Senior International Correspondent Gary Lane talks about this and more, on Christian World News, May 9.
In a video released earlier this week, the group announced it would convert the "daughters of Christians and sell them."
CBN News correspondent Erick Stakelbeck said that's no surprise.
"According to their leadership, this is mandated in Islam. Slavery is legal in Islam, and the Koran says that this kind of thing -- they call it the spoils of war -- is perfectly legal," Stakelbeck explained.
"Now does the world step in some way to stop that? Can it be stopped? That remains to be seen, but right now Nigeria does not seem to be doing enough to battle back against this group," he said.
Now, the United States, Britain, and China are involved in sending teams to Nigeria to help search for the girls who were abducted more than three weeks ago.
"Our embassy in Obuja is prepared to form a coordination cell that could provide expertise on intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiations, and to help facilitate information sharing in victim assistance," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
Meanwhile, Christian leaders from across the U.S. are gathering to pray for the girls and are urging fellow Christians to take action.
"We are here to pray for the safe return of these girls who are students, whose only guilt is that they seek education," Pastor James Fadele, president of the Christian Association of Nigerian Americans, said.
Jamal Bryant, pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, said, "It is a black eye to the Body of Christ for Christians to be silent."
A bipartisan group in Congress also showed their support for the missing girls, pausing for a moment of silence and prayer for the safety of the young women, ages 15 to 18.
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