Spike in women & children used as bombs by Boko Haram

World Today

It’s a terrifying new reality across northern Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Young girls becoming Boko Haram’s deadliest weapon.

CCTV’s Kathryn Ogunde reports on the devastating toll this is taking on families and the region.

A staggering report from the United Nations Children’s Fund said one in five suicide bombers used by the terror group is a child.

In early February 2016, two young women walked into Dikwa displacement camp without raising suspicion, and hours later they blew themselves up killing 58 people and wounding 48 others.

Jean Gough, UNICEF’s representative in Nigeria says the women and children suicide bombers are victims. UNICEF estimates 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. UNICEF and partners are working with national authorities to reduce children’s vulnerability by identifying children without guardians and providing them with appropriate care.

So far more than 35,000 children have been reached with psycho-social support to help them cope with the acute distress they have suffered as a result of the conflict.


Laurent Duvillier on Boko Haram’s suicide bombers

CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar interviewed Laurent Duvillier, regional communication specialist for UNICEF in West & Central Africa about Boko Haram’s suicide bombers.