http://www.unicef.org/media/media_90827.html
Nigeria regional conflict: 10-fold increase in number of children used
in ‘suicide’ attacks
Share
19
Tweet
Share
© UNICEF/UN015888/Bahaji
Salta Bintou Hassan, 11, lost her arm after a suicide attack on Bagasola
market, Chad, in October 2015. She spent two months in hospital in the
capital, N'Djamena.
DAKAR, Senegal/NEW YORK/GENEVA, 12 April 2016 – The number of children
involved in ‘suicide’ attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has
risen sharply over the past year, from 4 in 2014 to 44 in 2015,
according to a UNICEF report released today. More than 75 per cent of
the children involved in the attacks are girls.
“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.”
Released two years after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in
Chibok, the report, Beyond Chibok, shows alarming trends in four
countries affected by Boko Haram over the past two years:
◾Between January 2014 and February 2016, Cameroon recorded the highest
number of suicide attacks involving children (21), followed by Nigeria
(17) and Chad (2).
◾Over the past two years, nearly 1 in 5 suicide bombers was a child and
three quarters of these children were girls. Last year, children were
used in 1 out of 2 attacks in Cameroon, 1 out of 8 in Chad, and 1 out of
7 in Nigeria.
◾Last year, for the first time, ‘suicide’ bombing attacks in general
spread beyond Nigeria’s borders. The frequency of all suicide bombings
increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 last year. In 2015, 89 of these attacks
were carried out in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad and 7 in Niger.
The calculated use of children who may have been coerced into carrying
bombs, has created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion that has
devastating consequences for girls who have survived captivity and
sexual violence by Boko Haram in North East Nigeria.
Children who escaped from, or were released by, armed groups are often
seen as potential security threats, as shown in recent research by
UNICEF and International Alert. Children born as a result of sexual
violence also encounter stigma and discrimination in their villages,
host communities, and in camps for internally displaced persons.
“As ‘suicide’ attacks involving children become commonplace, some
communities are starting to see children as threats to their safety,”
said Fontaine. “This suspicion towards children can have destructive
consequences; how can a community rebuild itself when it is casting out
its own sisters, daughters and mothers?”
Beyond Chibok assesses the impact conflict has had on children in the
four countries affected by Boko Haram. The report notes that:
◾Nearly 1.3 million children have been displaced;
◾About 1,800 schools are closed – either damaged, looted, burned down or
used as shelter by displaced people;
◾Over 5,000 children were reported unaccompanied/separated from their
parents.
UNICEF is working with communities and families in Nigeria, Chad,
Cameroon and Niger to fight stigma against survivors of sexual violence
and to build a protective environment for former abductees.
Together with partners, UNICEF provides safe water and life-saving
health services; helps to restore access to education by creating
temporary learning spaces; and delivers therapeutic treatment to
malnourished children. UNICEF also provides psychosocial support to
children to help them cope with emotional distress.
The response to this crisis remains severely underfunded. This year,
only 11 per cent of the US$97 million needed for UNICEF’s humanitarian
response has been received. UNICEF is calling for increased commitment
from donors to support conflict affected children and women in Nigeria,
Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
# # #
Note to Editors:
Download Beyond Chibok and multimedia materials at: http://uni.cf/1qJVIyE
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything
we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and
territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing
special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to
the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about
UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org
Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook
For more information, please contact:
Laurent Duvillier, UNICEF Dakar Regional Office, +221 77 740 35 77,
lduvillier@xxxxxxxxxx
Doune Porter, UNICEF Nigeria, +234 803 525 0273, dporter@xxxxxxxxxx
Anne Boher, UNICEF Niger, +227 9696 2159, aboher@xxxxxxxxxx
María Fernández Ruiz de Larrinaga, UNICEF Chad, +235 66360042,
mfernandez@xxxxxxxxxx
Laure Bassek, UNICEF Cameroon, +237 222 50 54 39, lbassek@xxxxxxxxxx
Share
19
Tweet
Share
Updated: 12 April 2016
Press Releases
Printer friendly
Email this article
Children need your help
Children worldwide need your help right now. Please donate what you can
today.
DONATE NOW
UNICEF
Home
Who we are
What we do
Where we work
Press Centre
Statistics
UNICEF Annual Report
UNICEF and the UN
UN Links
UN Millennium Development Goals
UNICEF in depth
UNICEF Executive Board
Supplies and logistics
Publications
Internal audit
Transparency and accountability
Post 2015 Development Agenda
Partners
Public partnerships
Corporate partnerships
Civil society partnerships
UNICEF and the European Union
A Promise Renewed
Global Education First Initiative
UNGEI
Connect and subscribe
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Tumblr
RSS Feed
News feed (RSS)
Podcasts
Video podcast (Vodcast)
Recent stories
About UNICEF
Contact us
Legal
Donate
