Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- Who are the girls in that Boko Haram video (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/index.html')?
At least 36 of them have been identified as girls abducted by the terror group in its April 14 raid on a Chibok, Nigeria, boarding school, Borno Gov. Kashim Shettima told CNN on Tuesday.
Shettima says he met with families of the kidnapped girls earlier Tuesday in Borno state's capital Maiduguri, at which time the families identified some of their girls.
But some relatives told CNN that they had yet to recognize anyone in the video, released Monday by Agence France-Presse, a French news agency.
That's not necessarily surprising -- the video only shows about 100 girls, not the full 276 abducted from Chibok by Boko Haram (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/africa/boko-haram-explainer/index.html').
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511165235-chibok-nigeria-story-body.jpg)Nigerians take security into own hands (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512115559-pkg-nima-elbagir-abducted-girls-00014109-story-body.jpg)Witnesses to terror (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511073059-pkg-elbagir-chibok-girls-00011020-story-body.jpg)Exclusive interview with kidnapped girl (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok last month. The abduction of nearly 300 female students who remain captives of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has attracted mounting national and international outrage. Catholic faithful take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls in a morning Mass in their honor in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, on Sunday, May 11. Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. Catholics nuns pray during a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. A woman attends a demonstration Tuesday, May 6, that called for the Nigerian government to rescue nearly 300 schoolgirls who were kidnapped last month in Chibok, Nigeria. The girls were taken by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Abuja Hosea Sambido, a leader in the Chibok community, speaks during a rally in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 6, pressing for the release of the abducted girls. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's top military spokesman, speaks to people at a demonstration on May 6. Women march Monday, May 5, in Chibok. People rally in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, May 1. Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1. Protesters take part in a "million woman march" on Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30. A woman cries out during a demonstration Tuesday, April 29, in Abuja with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped. A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22. Mothers weep during a meeting with the Borno state governor on April 22 in Chibok. Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima, center, visits the Chibok school on April 21. Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls HIDE CAPTION << < (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512095958-01-nigeria-0512-topics.jpg) 1 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103218-01-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 2 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103509-02-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 3 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103741-03-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 4 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185644-01-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 5 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140507123348-01-nigeria-0507-topics.jpg) 6 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185823-02-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 7 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110255-01-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 8 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110436-restricted-02-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 9 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110703-03-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 10 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501065549-01-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 11 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075910-02-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 12 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075917-03-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 13 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110833-04-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 14 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075924-04-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 15 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075930-05-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 16 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075936-06-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 17 > >> (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512095958-01-nigeria-0512-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls But the relatives interviewed by CNN -- an uncle of one of the girls who escaped and the parents of two missing girls -- say they believe the video also shows some girls abducted as long as two years ago.
And parents of the missing girls in Mbalala district and also in Chibok told CNN on Tuesday that more than 50 parents of girls abducted on April 14 who watched the video did not recognize their daughters.
The confusion is significant because the video had been hailed as proof the girls in the Chibok abduction -- the object of international search efforts -- were alive and well. Such proof would be a crucial part of any possible negotiations that could lead to the release of the girls.
"I think we've got to be realistic," CNN analyst Frances Townsend said Tuesday on "New Day." "Even in a negotiation, because of the large number of captives, you are unlikely to return all approximately 300 girls to their families and reunite them healthy, safe and well."
Questions remain (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/09/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls-questions/index.html')
Negotiate or fight?
Shehu Sani, a former negotiator between Boko Haram and the government, has called for Nigerian authorities to negotiate with the girls' Islamist captors, and he says they may have to embrace the unpalatable option of a prisoner swap.
"There are two ways to which you can get these girls free," Sani told CNN's "Connect the World" show.
"The first is to use force and the second is through dialogue. The use of force is not an option for now in the sense that nobody knows where these girls were kept.
"And even if you know, these girls have been embedded in with the insurgents who are heavily armed. And any attempt to rescue them will be putting their lives in further danger."
The director of a government information ministry, the National Orientation Agency, said all options, including negotiations, are under consideration.
The Nigerian government has negotiated with Boko Haram for the release of kidnapped girls before, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.
Last year, the group won the release of some 100 of its imprisoned members after reaching an agreement to return about a dozen kidnapped girls, Cruickshank said.
Girls' lives 'more important'
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512162026-nigeria-map-2-story-top.jpeg) Map: Nima Elbagir's route to Chibok (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512162026-nigeria-map-2-story-top.jpeg)Map: Nima Elbagir's route to Chibok (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512074606-newday-boko-haram-nigerian-girls-convert-00000719-story-body.jpg)New video allegedly shows Nigerian girls (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512074606-newday-boko-haram-nigerian-girls-convert-00000719-story-body.jpg)New video allegedly shows Nigerian girls (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512173726-lead-pkg-elbagir-boko-haram-girl-escaped-00005728-story-body.jpg)Nigerian girl escapes from Boko Haram Cruickshank warned that dealing with Boko Haram will just invite more such abductions, but Sani, a human rights activist in northern Nigeria, says authorities have little choice.
"I believe that the lives of these girls is more important to us than the insurgents that have been in detention. And we have nothing to lose if we send the insurgents and we can swap them with these girls back," he said.
The man purporting to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared to open the door to such a resolution.
"By Allah, these girls will not leave our hands until you release our brothers in your prison," he said.
If not, they'll be sold as slaves, he said.
Rights groups have accused Nigeria of using heavy-handed tactics such as illegal searches, torture and extrajudicial killings to crack down on the militants.
International assistance
U.S. and British officials are working with the Nigerian government to gather intelligence and decide what to do next.
The U.S. is flying manned military surveillance flights over Nigeria in the hunt for the girls and their captors, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters Tuesday.
It is also sharing commercial satellite images with Nigeria, two senior Obama administration officials told CNN's Elise Labott on Monday.
China and France are also helping in the search. Israel plans to send a team of counterterrorism experts to help, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's office said Sunday.
The road to Boko Haram's heartland (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-chibok-journey/index.html')
Opinion: Nigerians right to be wary of U.S. intentions (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/13/opinion/nigeria-us-military-ogunlesi/index.html')
Stephanie Busari and Lillian Leposo reported from Abuja. Laura Smith-Spark reported and wrote from London. CNN's Antonia Mortensen contributed from Abuja and Faith Karimi contributed from Atlanta. Journalist Aminu Abubakar also contributed to this report.
Source: CNN.com