Boko Haram forces more girls to become ‘human bombs’

THE UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) is concerned about the increase in the use of children, especially girls, as “human bombs” in Nigeria.

Since the beginning of January, 83 children have been used as so-called human bombs, 55 being girls, most of them often under 15 years old, according to Unicef spokesperson Marixie Mercado.

The 27 other children were boys and one was an infant strapped to a girl.

The number of children used so far this year is four times higher than what it was for all of last year.

“Children used as human bombs are, above all, victims, not perpetrators,” Mercado said. She said the use of children in such attacks created suspicion and fear of children released, rescued, or escaped from Boko Haram.

“They face rejection when they try to reintegrate into their communities which compounds their suffering,” she said.

Mercado painted a dire picture, describing the situation as a massive displacement and malnutrition crisis – “a deadly combination for children”.

She said a significant percentage of the persons displaced by the insurgencies in north-east Nigeria are children with the vast majority of them in Borno state, where most of those attacks are taking place.

Unicef is providing psychosocial support for children who had been held by Boko Haram and working with families and communities to foster the acceptance of returned children.

North-east Nigeria is also one of four countries or regions facing famine, with up to 450 000 children at risk of severe acute malnutrition this year. – ANA