Britain offers surveillance aircraft to Nigeria to aid search for abducted schoolgirls

LONDON, May 15 (UPI) -- The United Kingdom said Wednesday it has offered additional assistance to Nigeria to aid search efforts for the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on April 15.

A British team of experts arrived in the capital city of Abuja on May 9 to provide support to the Nigerian government and coordinate with other international partners in the search and "addressing longer term challenges."

British Brigadier Ivan Jones observed, "No one should underestimate the scale and complexity of this incident and environment. But it is clear that there are areas where we can have a real impact on their capability, building on the close co-operation and training that already exists."

On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced via Twitter that the U.K. has offered surveillance aircraft to Nigeria to aid the search for the abducted school girls.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for abducting more than 200 girls from their school in Borno state on April 15. Parents and families of the missing have criticized the Nigerian government for failing to dedicate sufficient resources to find the missing girls.