UN calls for immediate release of 317 girls abducted from school in Nigeria

Peter Hawkins, a representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the country, urged the assailants to let the teenagers go immediately, Xinhua reported.

The United Nations on Friday called for the immediate release of several hundred schoolgirls kidnapped from a secondary school in northwest Nigeria.

Parents of kidnapped students of Government Girls Junior Secondary School wait for information about family members following an attack by gunmen in Jangebe, Nigeria.(AP)

Peter Hawkins, a representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the country, urged the assailants to let the teenagers go immediately, Xinhua reported.

Scores of students were abducted when the gunman stormed an all-girls school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara on early Friday, a local official said.

"We are angered and saddened by yet another brutal attack on schoolchildren in Nigeria," Hawkins said. "This is a gross violation of children's rights and a horrific experience for children to go through -- one which could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and well-being."

The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, tweeted, "I am shocked by today's kidnapping of 317 girls from their school in northwest Nigeria. This is the 3rd mass abduction of children since December in the country."

"No child anywhere should be afraid to go to school. I hope the girls are unharmed and will be freed soon," he wrote.