UNSC condemns kidnap of Nigerian girls

The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the abduction of hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls, as the world body’s secretary general dispatched an envoy to help find them. The diplomatic moves came after Amnesty International said that Nigeria’s military had been warned of an attack on a school in which about 260 girls were abducted by Boko Haram Islamists three weeks ago, but failed to act for nearly five hours. The Nigerian military denied the allegation and has launched a round-the- clock search for the missing girls. But Amnesty’s allegations are likely to heap further pressure on Nigeria’s embattled government and military. The unanimous UN Security Council declaration said the mass kidnappings ‘may amount to crimes against humanity’ under international law, but made no explicit reference to charges in the International Criminal Court, according to AFP.