海角大神

On the first anniversary of the kidnapping by Islamic extremists of hundreds of聽girls聽from a school in northeast聽Nigeria, President-elect Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday that he cannot promise to find the 219 who are still missing.

"We do not know if the Chibok聽girls聽can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown," Buhari said in a statement. "As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them."

The statement by Buhari, a former military ruler of聽Nigeria聽who was democratically elected on March 28, is a marked departure from President Goodluck Jonathan, who, after his administration initially denied there had been a kidnapping, made hollow promises that they would be rescued.

But a year after the April 14-15 mass abduction at a school in Chibok, a town in northeast聽Nigeria, hope has dwindled. Activists are marking the anniversary with a change in their slogan from "Bring Back Our聽Girls聽鈥� Now and Alive" to "Never to be Forgotten."

"We hear the anguish of our citizens and intend to respond accordingly," Buhari's statement said. "This new approach must also begin with honesty."

Several dozen聽girls聽managed to escape as the kidnappers were taking the hostages to the Sambisa Forest in northeast聽Nigeria, but 219 remain missing. They may have been split up and some eyewitnesses said some were taken across the border into Cameroon.

A hopeful message addressed to the captives from Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai promised the聽girls scholarships and said they must never lose courage.

The 17-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate 鈥� who has stood up to the Taliban 鈥� chastised Jonathan's administration and the international community, saying neither have done enough to rescue the聽girls. The activist for聽girls' education spent her birthday in聽Nigeria聽in July, meeting with the parents of the kidnapped聽girls.

She said she and millions of people around the world stand in solidarity with the聽girls聽who have come to be known as "the Chibok聽girls."

They were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed they had converted to Islam and been married off to his fighters.

Their kidnapping sparked international outrage around the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. In New York City, the campaign said the Empire State Building will be lit up Tuesday night, over the hours the聽girls聽were snatched, in its purple and red colors symbolizing its call for an end to violence against women and聽girls.

At least 2,000 women and聽girls聽have been abducted by Boko Haram since the start of 2014, and many have been forced into sexual slavery and trained to fight, Amnesty International says.

Hundreds of boys and young men also have been kidnapped and forced to fight with the extremists, or slaughtered for refusing to do so, it said.