UNICEF Report Reveals Number of Children Used as Suicide Bombers by Boko Haram in 2015

UNICEF report released on April 12, 2016 has shown that over 75% of children used by Boko Haram as suicide bombers in Cameroon were girls. The number of children involved in "suicide attacks" in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has increased sharply during the past year, from 4 in 2014 to 44 in 2015, indicates the report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Published two years after the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls Chibok, the report, entitled Beyond Chibok (Beyond Chibok), highlights the alarming trends in the four countries where Boko Haram has been active over the last two years. The report further indicates that from January 2014 and February 2015, Cameroon has recorded the largest number of suicide attacks involving children (21), followed by Nigeria (17) and Chad (2). " Last year, children were used in attacks and in Cameroon 2 of 1 Cameroon, 1 of 8 in Chad, and 1 of 7 in Nigeria ".

 The frequency of all suicide attacks increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 last year. In 2015, 89 of these attacks occurred in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad 16  and 7 in Niger, according to the UNICEF report.

Beyond Chibok analyzes the effects of conflict on children in the four countries where Boko Haram is active. The report notes that: Nearly 1.3 million children have been displaced; 1800 schools are closed - either damaged or looted or burned or used by displaced people for shelter; More than 5,000 children are reported as unaccompanied or separated from their parents. UNICEF works in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger with the communities and the families to fight stigmatization of victims who survived sexual violence and to build a protective environment for children who have been abducted.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)