KANO, Nigeria — UNICEF says the number of child bombers used by the Islamic extremists of Boko Haram has increased tenfold in a year with devastating consequences in communities that now see children as threats.
The UN children’s agency said Tuesday that 75 percent of the kids used are girls.
The number of children in suicide attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger rose from 4 in 2014 to 44 in 2015, it said. The frequency of all suicide bombings increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 last year. In 2015, 89 of these attacks were carried out in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad and 7 in Niger.
Boko Haram has sent bombers to mosques, market places and other soft targets and is believed to be turning captives into weapons.
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