VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
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Pope Leo urges international diplomacy to prevent ‘irreparable abyss’
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Pope Leo urges international diplomacy to prevent ‘irreparable abyss’
Nigerians welcome 130 schoolchildren and teachers released after mass abduction
MINNA: Nigerians on Monday got their first look at 130 children and teachers released after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country's history.
Some of the children appeared to be malnourished or in shock as they arrived at a government ceremony. Police said they were freed Sunday, a month after gunmen stormed their Catholic school in Niger state’s Papiri community in a predawn attack.
Authorities said plans were underway to reunite the children with their families before Christmas.
Authorities earlier said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were seized and 50 of them escaped in the hours that followed. But on Monday, Niger state Gov. Mohammed Bago indicated that 230 had been taken and all had now been released.
School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous country.
Officials did not say whether a ransom — common in such abductions — had been paid. No group has claimed responsibility, but residents blamed armed gangs that target schools and travelers in kidnappings for ransom across Nigeria’s conflict-battered north.
Most of those seized in the attack were aged between 10 and 17, the school said. One of the children released earlier told The Associated Press that gunmen threatened to shoot them during the attack.
Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, national coordinator at Nigeria’s Center for Counter Terrorism, told Monday's event that Nigeria will work with community leaders to boost safety in high-risk areas.
Some of the children appeared to be malnourished or in shock as they arrived at a government ceremony. Police said they were freed Sunday, a month after gunmen stormed their Catholic school in Niger state’s Papiri community in a predawn attack.
Authorities said plans were underway to reunite the children with their families before Christmas.
Authorities earlier said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were seized and 50 of them escaped in the hours that followed. But on Monday, Niger state Gov. Mohammed Bago indicated that 230 had been taken and all had now been released.
School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous country.
Officials did not say whether a ransom — common in such abductions — had been paid. No group has claimed responsibility, but residents blamed armed gangs that target schools and travelers in kidnappings for ransom across Nigeria’s conflict-battered north.
Most of those seized in the attack were aged between 10 and 17, the school said. One of the children released earlier told The Associated Press that gunmen threatened to shoot them during the attack.
Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, national coordinator at Nigeria’s Center for Counter Terrorism, told Monday's event that Nigeria will work with community leaders to boost safety in high-risk areas.
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