UNICEF worried over children used in suicide attacks

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in its latest report has raised the alarm over the number of children – mostly girls, used by Boko Haram in suicide attacks in the Lake Chad conflict which it said has risen to 27 in the first quarter of 2017, compared to nine over the same period last year.

According to UNICEF, so far, 117 children have been used to carry out bomb attacks in public places across Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon since 2014: four in 2014, 56 in 2015, 30 in 2016 and 27 only in the first three months of 2017, stressing that girls were used in the vast majority of these attacks.

Reacting to the report titled: “Silent Shame”, which was released yesterday, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Marie-Pierre Poirier, said: “This is the worst possible use of children in conflict.”
“In the first three months of this year, the number of children used in bomb attacks is nearly the same as the whole of last year.”

Apart from revealing the worrisome increase, the report also showed an alarming tactic deployed by the insurgents to carry out their dastardly act as the report clearly captured the voices of children caught in the Lake Chad crisis.

As a result of the abuse, UNICEF says girl, boys and even infants have been viewed with increasing fear at markets and checkpoints, where they are thought to carry explosives.

Poirierh pointed out that these children were victims and not perpetrators. “Forcing or deceiving them into committing such horrific acts is reprehensible”, she said.

Released three years after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, the report provides troubling accounts by children who were held in captivity at the hands of Boko Haram, and shows how these children were met with deep suspicion when they return to their communities.

“In interviews, many children who have been associated with Boko Haram report that they keep their experience secret because they fear the stigmatization and even violent reprisals from their community. Some are compelled to bear their horrors in silence as they remove themselves from other groups for fear they might be ousted and stigmatized”, the report said.

The report also highlights the challenges that local authorities face with children who have been intercepted at checkpoints and taken into administrative custody for questioning and screening, raising concerns about the prolonged periods of custody. In 2016, almost 1,500 children were under administrative custody in the four countries.

To this end, UNICEF called on parties to the conflict to commit to the following actions to protect children in the region.
●End grave violations against children by Boko Haram, including recruitment and use of children in armed conflict as so-called ‘suicide bombers’.
●Move children from a military to civilian environment as quickly as possible. Children who have been taken into custody solely for their alleged or actual association to armed groups should be immediately handed-over to civilian authorities for reintegration and support. Handover protocols should be in place in each of the four countries for children encountered during military operations.
●Provide care and protection for separated and unaccompanied children. All children affected by the crisis need psychosocial support and safe spaces to recover.

In 2016, UNICEF reached over 312,000 children with psychosocial support in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, and reunited more than 800 children with their families.