Off the wire
• U.S. stocks rally amid earnings reports  • Gold steadies on stronger U.S. dollar  • U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of terror victims  • Spotlight: Syrian gov't chief negotiator unfazed by opposition's withdrawal from talks  • Urgent: U.S. plans to put woman abolitionist Harriet Tubman on 20-dollar bill  • Security forces launch anti-IS offensive to free town near Baghdad  • Crude prices rise on shrinking U.S. output  • Roundup: Uganda strives to roll back economic cost of malaria burden  • Uganda to open against rivals Kenya in 2016 ICC Women' s World Cup qualifiers  • Azerbaijan, Iran inaugurate major railway bridge project  
You are here: 　 Home

UN agency slams recent abduction of some 100 children in western Ethiopia

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent abduction of some 100 children in western Ethiopia, a UN spokesman said here Wednesday.

Some 100 children were kidnapped on Friday during a brutal attack on their community by armed assailants, allegedly cattle raiders from South Sudan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing.

"Unverified reports indicate that children are also among the dead and wounded," he said.

"UNICEF staff is assessing the situation of children affected by this horrific act of unbridled violence, and stand ready to support the community," he said.

"As the Ethiopian government works to obtain the release of these children, UNICEF joins in calling for their swift and unconditional release to their families," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian army is trying to rescue 108 women and children abducted in a cross-border raid in the western Gambella region, reports said, adding that the Ethiopian government said the army had killed 60 of those who carried out the attack. Enditem