AFRICA/NIGERIA - In 3 years Boko Haram has killed over 4,000 children

Monday, 8 May 2017

PRO Xavier J. Peg

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - The terrorist attacks of Boko Haram has since 2014 affected mainly children. Many of them are used for suicide attacks. The first study carried out by the United Nations Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (2013-2016) highlighted that minors continue to suffer cruelties at the hands of Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. In three years more than 4,000 children lost their lives and 1,650 were recruited. The United Nations report also points out suicide attacks as the second cause of death among the young.
From some of the testimonies of the freed minors it emerges that most of them are seized, others are enlisted for economic reasons or family pressure. Schools are the main targets of terrorist attacks. According to the UN, at least 1500 have been destroyed since 2014 and 1280 victims have been recorded among students and professors. Since 2014, at least 4,000 minors have been abused, forced to marry and convert to Islam. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 8/5/2017)


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