Women in captivity of the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram in Nigeria
Here is a snapshot of developments since the kidnapping in northeastern Nigeria two months ago of more than 200 schoolgirls by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
A total of 276 girls were kidnapped, attracting worldwide attention and prompting an international rescue effort.
The army has come in for criticism for its incapacity to rein in the Boko Haram insurgency, with attacks multiplying over the past few months, leaving thousands dead.
APRIL 2014- 14: 276 young girls, aged from 12 to 17, are seized in Chibok, a remote corner of Borno state in northeastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram gunmen storm the girls' boarding school, forcing them from their dormitories onto trucks and driving them into the bush. Fifty-seven of the girls manage to flee.
- 29: Parents lash out at the government's failure to rescue the schoolgirls.
MAY- 1: Hundreds of parents, many dressed in red, hold a day of protest in Chibok, urging help from the government and the international community.
- 5: Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau says in a video obtained by AFP that his group was responsible for the mass abduction and vows to sell the girls as slave brides.
- 9: Amnesty International claims that Nigeria's military was warned of the school attack but failed to take action due to lack of manpower. The military denies the allegation.
The UN Security Council strongly condemns the mass kidnappings which it says "may amount to crimes against humanity" under international law.
- 10: French experts specialised in intelligence join US and British experts in the search operation. China also offers assistance.
- 12: Boko Haram releases a new video claiming to show the missing girls, alleging that the teenagers have converted to Islam and will not be released until all militant prisoners are freed.
- 14: The US Pentagon says the American army is using surveillance drones and aircraft to help the search operation.
- 17: Meeting in Paris, Nigeria and its neighbours Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger vow to work together to combat Boko Haram in what Cameroon President Paul Biya describes as a declaration of war.
- 21: Washington says it is sending 80 military personnel to Chad to help with the search effort.
- 26: The Nigerian military claims that it has located the teenagers but Washington expresses scepticism.
JUNE - 7: At least 20 young mothers are abducted from a nomadic settlement near Chibok by suspected members of the group, according to local residents.
- 12: Representatives from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin agree in London to strengthen their cooperation to find the schoolgirls and defeat Boko Haram.