World
Desperate Parents of 200 Abducted Nigerian Girls Say They Have Turned to U.N.
In this Monday, May 19, 2014 file photo, Martha Mark, the mother of kidnapped school girl Monica Mark cries as she displays her photo, in the family house, in Chibok, Nigeria. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
Julia Payne, REUTERS
ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters)—Parents of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist rebels in April said they were appealing directly to the United Nations for help after losing hope that the Nigerian government would rescue them.
A group lobbying for government action on behalf of the parents met with U.N. Women, the head of the U.N. representation in Nigeria, and with officials of the U.N. Office for West Africa last month. The group has also appealed to UNICEF, campaign spokeswoman Bukola Shonibare said.
U.N. officials were not immediately available for comment.
“If the government cannot take action, we are asking for the UN to come in and help and if they reject, we just don’t know what to do,” Reverend Enoch Mark, leader of the parents, told Reuters. Two of his daughters were kidnapped.
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