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France urges immediate release of women, children seized by Nigeria's Boko Haram

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

France on Wednesday called for the immediate release of "many hundreds of women and children" abducted by Boko Haram militants in Damasak, north of Nigeria, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said that France condemned with the "strongest terms" the Islamist group's fresh mass kidnapping, stressing that "the responsible for these despicable acts must be brought to justice."

The Quai d'Orsay added that Paris backed efforts to improve regional coordination to fight terrorism in the region and to ensure security in concerned African countries.

According to reports, the group's insurgents have kidnapped more than 400 women and children from Damasak recently retaken from the terrorist cell.

Nigeria-based Boko Haram has staged several deadly attacks and mass kidnapping in northern Cameroon and Nigerian territory to set up an Islamist state. Endit