Nigeria Kidnap: PM's Anger Over 'Ghastly' Act

David Cameron has described the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Islamist extremists in Nigeria as "ghastly" and "an act of pure evil".

In an interview with Sky News, the Prime Minister confirmed a British team had been sent to Nigeria, three weeks after Boko Haram abducted the youngsters from a boarding school in the village of Chibok.

"This is a ghastly situation and an act of pure evil," Mr Cameron said.

"As soon as it happened, the Foreign Secretary rang his counterpart in Nigeria to offer help.

The government has faced criticism of its response

"That offer wasn't taken up but I rang President Goodluck Jonathan in the last couple of days to make a further offer, and we've since sent a team of experts to Nigeria to help.

"It's a team that complements the one sent by the United States and includes experts in counter-terrorism, policing and counter-insurgency, as well as aid and education."

Experts from the UK have arrived in the capital Abuja and are expected to help "advise and support" the rescue operation in the coming days.

They will join US military and intelligence experts, who US Secretary of State John Kerry said would do "everything they can to return these girls to their families and their communities".

Goodluck Jonathan speaks at the World Economic Forum in Abuja

"We'll do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram," he added.

The arrival of international support comes after a parent of one of the schoolgirls pleaded for more help from abroad.

Speaking to Sky News' Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, Shettima Haruma, whose daughter was among those taken, said he was "angry" with the Nigerian government's response.

"We need the government to get American people to come and help us," he said.

"We beg Nigerians, those in another country like America or (Britain) ... it's three weeks, nearly one month ... (and we haven't) seen any letters from our daughters."

Protesters march near the Nigerian embassy in Washington

The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the girls "on the market" and some of the group have already reportedly been trafficked to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.

A further 11 girls, aged 12 to 15, have also been abducted from the northeastern village of Warabe.

The search for the missing schoolgirls is focused around the huge Sambisa Forest - the "hideout" of Boko Haram, whose name is said to figuratively mean "Western education is forbidden".

Mr Jonathan said the abduction would be the "beginning of the end of terror" in the country, adding: "By God's grace we will conquer the terrorists".

A social media campaign backed by a number of celebrities has sought to raise awareness of the girls' plight.

The Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls has been promoted by the likes of US First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Angelina Jolie, who told Sky News: "These men thought that they can get away with this, that they could abuse them in such a way, sell them, rape them, take them as property, because so many people have gotten away with this in the past because of this culture of impunity."

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