Kidnappers hold 79 school pupils

ARMED separatists have kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, local officials say.

The students are aged 11-17 and the school principal was among the staff members abducted from Nkwen, a village near regional capital Bamenda.

A video purporting to show the children was released online. The men in the video said they would only release the students once the goal of creating a new state of Ambazonia is achieved.