'Alarming Spike' in Female Suicide Bombers Says UN
Wed, May 27, 2015
Refugee girls aged seven-17 are often kidnapped and press-ganged into service as suicide bombers. (Photo: © Reuters)
There has been an “alarming spike” in the number of women and children used as suicide bombers in Nigeria, according to the United Nations.
“In 2014, there were 26 incidents of suicide attacks recorded but during the first five months of 2015, 27 incidents had been recorded (until mid-May),” UNICEF child protection specialist Laurent Dutordoir told the reporters.
Of these, nine were girls aged between seven and 17.
Bukkar lost two of his sisters to Boko Haram when the group invaded the town of Damasak in March.
“They set our house on fire and walked through the streets kidnapping children who were under 15 years of age and killing those who were above that age," he told reporters. "They were most interested in little girls, whom they plan to use as suicide bombers.”
Dutordoir said there was concern as the use of child suicide bombers grows, children will be treated as a greater threat and be more vulnerable as a result.
To combat this, he said “UNICEF staff are travelling into the field on a weekly basis” and are working “with local partners on the ground to reach those children, both in internally-displaced persons camps and in informal settings.”
The Islamic State in West Africa, formerly Boko Haram, regularly carries out suicide bombings on Christians and Muslims who do not adhere to its jihadi vision. They are attempting to carve out a state in the Muslim-majority northeast.
Since they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and changed their name to The Islamic State in West Africa violence has increased and the group seems to have become more sophisticated.
On Saturday at least 37 people were killed in a five-hour assault on the town of Gubio in Borno State. No suicide bombers were used in this particular attack. They also destroyed 400 buildings.
A counteroffensive by the Nigerian army, backed by troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon was largely successful at pushing the Islamic State in West Africa out of most of the territory it captured last year.
In 2014 Boko Haram killed an estimated 10,000 people.
The
Islamic State also uses suicide bombers. Al-Jazeera reported 55 people
were killed today in a triple-suicide bombing in the Iraqi city of
Fallujah.
To learn more about Boko Haram and their horrific practices of child abuse see Clarion Project's Factsheet: Boko Haram Nigerian Islamist Group
“In 2014, there were 26 incidents of suicide attacks recorded but during the first five months of 2015, 27 incidents had been recorded (until mid-May),” UNICEF child protection specialist Laurent Dutordoir told the reporters.
Of these, nine were girls aged between seven and 17.
Bukkar lost two of his sisters to Boko Haram when the group invaded the town of Damasak in March.
“They set our house on fire and walked through the streets kidnapping children who were under 15 years of age and killing those who were above that age," he told reporters. "They were most interested in little girls, whom they plan to use as suicide bombers.”
Dutordoir said there was concern as the use of child suicide bombers grows, children will be treated as a greater threat and be more vulnerable as a result.
To combat this, he said “UNICEF staff are travelling into the field on a weekly basis” and are working “with local partners on the ground to reach those children, both in internally-displaced persons camps and in informal settings.”
The Islamic State in West Africa, formerly Boko Haram, regularly carries out suicide bombings on Christians and Muslims who do not adhere to its jihadi vision. They are attempting to carve out a state in the Muslim-majority northeast.
Since they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and changed their name to The Islamic State in West Africa violence has increased and the group seems to have become more sophisticated.
On Saturday at least 37 people were killed in a five-hour assault on the town of Gubio in Borno State. No suicide bombers were used in this particular attack. They also destroyed 400 buildings.
A counteroffensive by the Nigerian army, backed by troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon was largely successful at pushing the Islamic State in West Africa out of most of the territory it captured last year.
In 2014 Boko Haram killed an estimated 10,000 people.
To learn more about Boko Haram and their horrific practices of child abuse see Clarion Project's Factsheet: Boko Haram Nigerian Islamist Group
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