President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has called for urgent international response to the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria and describing the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls by the Islamists sect as “heartbreaking” and “outrageous”.

“It’s a heartbreaking situation, outrageous situation, this may be the event that helps to mobilize the entire international community to finally do something against this horrendous organization that’s perpetrated such a terrible crime,” Obama said in an interview with US broadcaster ABC on Tuesday.

Obama confirmed that Nigeria had accepted a US offer to send a team of experts to help find the missing girls, saying “we’ve already sent in a team to Nigeria,” consisting of “military, law enforcement, and other agencies.”

This team will work to “identify where in fact these girls might be and provide them help,” the US president said, denouncing Boko Haram as “one of the worst regional or local terrorist organizations.”

Recall that his week, Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility, saying his extreme Islamist group was holding the schoolgirls as “slaves” and threatening to “sell them in the market”, in a video obtained by AFP.

The girls were taken three weeks ago, sparking global outrage, and the mass kidnapping may constitute a crime against humanity, according to the UN.

*Courtesy AFP