Gunmen have kidnapped hundreds of students and teachers from two schools in Nigeria in the worst case of abductions since more than 270 girls from Chibok town were snatched from their school in 2014.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday that 50 pupils had escaped and had been reunited with their families days after they were abducted from a Catholic school in central Niger state.

So what do we know about the latest abductions? And why are children being targeted by armed groups?

What happened?

Gunmen abducted 303 children and 12 teachers during an attack on Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state, according to CAN, the largest Christian organisation in the country. Local media reported that the abductions and attack took place on Frida

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