Experts said that unmanned spy planes of the kind used in Afghanistan could be deployed along with satellite-operated cameras to search the vast areas of desert and woodland where the girls are thought to be hidden.

Maybe some of the western nations with advanced surveillance capabilities will step up to help, but I’m not betting on it.

“I abducted your girls,” said Abubakar Shekau, who appeared dressed in combat fatigues and standing in front of an armoured personnel carrier. Six masked gunmen flanked him. “I will sell them in the market, by Allah. I will marry off a woman at the age of 12. I will marry off a girl at the age of nine.”

This should remind us of a few facts that aren’t thought about much (if at all) in the politically correct western world.

First, slavery, real slavery, is still alive and well in most of the world. Ironically this is the area where most slaves sent to the western hemisphere were captured back when slavery was widely accepted. Muslims were involved back then as well, so some things just don’t change.

Second, Islam has a long history of enslaving infidels. While it is illegal under Sharia law to enslave a fellow Muslim, no such prohibition exists when it comes to non believers.

American and French commanders currently operate drones out of a newly-established base at an airfield in neighbouring Niger, which France has been using in its fight against al-Qaeda militants in Mali.

This would likely be helpful, but I wonder if anti drone sentiment around the world will prevent it. After all what are the lives of a couple of hundred school aged girls when there is an opportunity to bash the western world for it’s attacks on Islam?

International attention on the plight of the missing girls was initially slow but has grown in recent days, in part because of a social media campaign – #bringbackourgirls.

Social media might raise awareness, but I doubt it will actually get the terrorists to release the girls. However, the major US news outlets, Fox, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC have all picked up the story, so maybe the US will act to help free the girls.

We can only hope that they are freed, not murdered before they can be freed.