Nigeria’s military knows where the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram are, but has ruled out using force to rescue them, the BBC showed Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh saying on Monday.

Seven weeks since Boko Haram militants abducted more than 200 girls taking exams at secondary school in the remote northeastern village of Chibok, little is known of their whereabouts or what the military is doing to get them out.

“The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you,” Badeh was quoted as saying. “But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.”