Boko Haram Use Of Child Suicide Bombers Has Increased Tremenduosly -UNICEF Report

Further data from the report showed that in the two years to February 2016, a total of 21 attacks carried out in Cameroon involved children. A further 17 attacks in Nigeria used children, as did two in Chad.

Amnesty International reports that more about 2,000 girls and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram in the past two years, with many used as cooks, sex slaves, and fighters.

But Boko Haram’s use of children, who may have been coerced into carrying the bombs, has created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion in Nigeria and the surrounding areas involved in the conflict, Unicef reports. Children who have managed to escape from the terrorist group or who have been released by them are often seen as security threats as a result.

“Let us be clear: these children are victims, not perpetrators,” said Manuel Fontaine, Unicef Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Deceiving children and forcing them to carry out deadly acts has been one of the most horrific aspects of the violence in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries.”