UNICEF expresses concerns over child abductions in West, Central Africa
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has expressed “deep concerns” over the spate of child/children abductions in some parts of West and Central Africa.
In a statement on Wednesday July 7, 2021, the organization noted that on July 5, 150 students were abducted from a school in Kaduna State, Nigeria, and expressed the fear that such abductions would likely increase over the coming weeks.
“We are deeply concerned that as in years past, non-state armed groups and parties to conflict in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger and Nigeria will ramp up these violent activities over the coming weeks ahead of the rainy season when their movements could be restricted by flooding.
“Such incidents appear to be increasing in frequency, raising fears for the safety and wellbeing of the region’s children,” it said. It noted that in 2020, according to the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflicts, one in three child victims of grave violations has been in West and Central Africa.
“In Burkina Faso, attacks against civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law have spiked significantly in recent weeks. On 5 June, at least 130 civilians were killed in an attack on a village in Yagha Province that lasted for hours. This was the single deadliest attack in the country since the outbreak of violence in 2015.
“So far this month, 178 civilians have been killed, including children. More than 1.2 million people, 61 per cent of whom are children, are now displaced because of violence – a ten-fold increase in just the last three years.
“In Cameroon, members of an armed group attacked a religious center in Mamfe on 6 June, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding a 16-year-old boy.
“Attacks on civilians, abductions and killings of school children and teachers are on the rise across the northwest and southwest parts of the country. We estimate that one million children in Cameroon need protection from violence.”
It noted that threats against aid …