WUNRN
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_82047.html
NIGERIA
NE – ALARMING SPIKE IN SUICIDE ATTACKS INVOLVING WOMEN & GIRLS - UNICEF
ABUJA, Nigeria, 26 May 2015 – More women and children have
been used as suicide bombers in Northeast Nigeria in the first five months of
this year than during the whole of last year, according to reports collated by
UNICEF.
In 2014, 26 suicide attacks were recorded, compared to 27 attacks
as of May 2015. In at least three-quarters of these incidents, women and
children were reportedly used to carry out the attacks.
“Children are not instigating these suicide attacks; they are used
intentionally by adults in the most horrific way,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF
Representative in Nigeria. “They are first and foremost victims – not
perpetrators.”
The frequency and intensity of the suicide attacks involving women
and girls have increased sharply this year. Girls and women have been used to
detonate bombs or explosive belts at crowded locations, such as market places
and bus stations.
Since July 2014, nine suicide incidents involving children aged
between approximately 7 and 17 years – all of them girls – have been reported.
Their identity and exact ages have not been verified, as estimates are based
primarily on eyewitness accounts.
An estimated 743,000 children have been uprooted by the conflict
in the three most affected states in Nigeria; the number of unaccompanied and
separated children could be as high as 10,000, according to UNICEF estimates.
“Many children have been separated from their families when they
fled the violence, with no one to look after them,” said Gough. “Without the
protection of their families, these children are at greater risk of
exploitation by adults, and this can lead to involvement in criminal or armed
group activities.”
UNICEF is concerned that the increasing use of children as suicide
bombers could lead to children being perceived as potential threats, which
would put all children associated with armed groups at risk of retaliation and
would impede their rehabilitation and reintegration in their communities.
UNICEF and partners are working with national authorities to
reduce children’s vulnerability by identifying children who are without parents
or relatives and providing them with appropriate care. In addition, over 35,000
children have been reached with psychosocial support to help them cope with the
acute distress they have suffered as a result of the conflict.
As the incoming President of Nigeria is expected to be sworn-in
this week, UNICEF calls on the Nigerian authorities to place the safety and
well-being of all children, especially those affected by the crisis in the
Northeast, at the center of the political agenda.