Unicef sees alarming rise in number of Nigerian children used in suicide attacks
The UN children’s agency has reported an “alarming spike” in suicide bombings by girls and women used by Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria.
Women and children carried out three quarters of the 26 suicide attacks reported in 2014 and the 27 seen in just the first five months of this year, it said.
Unicef said that children are “being used intentionally by adults in the most horrific way”.
It is not known how many thousands of children and women have been kidnapped by Boko Haram, with new abductions reported every week.
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Unicef estimates 743,000 children have been uprooted by the nearly six-year-old Islamic uprising, with as many as 10,000 separated from their families in the chaos.
The agency is concerned children will be perceived as potential threats and be in danger of retaliation.
