First lady Michelle Obama on Saturday criticized the kidnapping of scores of Nigerian schoolgirls

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama on Saturday criticized the kidnapping of scores of Nigerian schoolgirls as an “unconscionable act” carried out by a terrorist group she said is determined to keep them from getting an education — “or grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.”

Taking over the president’s weekly radio and Internet address on the eve of the American holiday for honouring mothers, the first lady said that, like millions of people around the world, she and President Barack Obama are “outraged and heartbroken” over the April 15 abduction of the girls from their dormitory.

“In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters,” Mrs. Obama said, referring to Malia, 15, and Sasha, 12. “We see their hopes, their dreams and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are…