From Aminu Dalhatu (Kaduna)
United Nations Children Fund-UNICEF has expressed deep concerned over increasing attacks against children and child abductions in parts of West and Central Africa.
A statement by UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore says on July 5th, 150 students were reportedly abducted from a school in Kaduna State, marking the latest incident in an alarming spate of attacks against children and abductions in parts of West and Central Africa.
According to the statement, UNICEF is 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 the violent activities over the coming weeks ahead of the rainy season when their movements could be restricted by flooding.
It says such incidents appear to be increasing in frequency, raising fears for the safety and wellbeing of the region’s children.
“Already in 2020, according to the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, 1 in 3 child victims of grave violations has been in West and Central Africa”.
The statement explains that, in Nigeria, the UN estimate reveals that, at least 950 students have been abducted from their schools by armed men since December.
While over the past six weeks alone, nearly 500 children were abducted in four separate incidents across the central and northwest parts of the country.
It says many of the children have not yet been returned, stressing that their families and loved ones are suffering in their absence.
The statement further reveals that, In Burkina Faso, attacks against civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law have spiked significantly in recent weeks, saying that, On 5 June, at least 130 civilians were killed in an attack on a village in Yagha Province that lasted for hours.
While In Cameroon, members of an armed group attacked a religious center in Mamfe on 6 June, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounded 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 1 million children in Cameroon need protection from violence”
“In the first three months of 2021, UNICEF also witnessed an overwhelming increase of child rights violations across the Central African Republic, in a context of growing insecurity and tension linked to the 2020 general elections.
“Recorded cases of sexual violence against girls increased almost fivefold between the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 – from 10 to 49. The number of children recorded as killed or maimed was also seven times higher in early 2021 than towards the end of 2020, while attacks on occupations of schools and hospitals increased from 30 to 44 over the same period”.
The statement also says attacks against children, families and schools are also occurring in Niger, stressing that, so far this year, armed groups have killed nearly 300 people, including 45 children, in coordinated assaults on villages in the Tillábery and Tahoua regions.
“In the DRC, in the first quarter of 2021 alone, more than 3,400 violations against children such as recruitment to armed groups, abduction and killing were verified, representing 64 per cent of the total number of violations verified for the entire year of 2020″.
“It is not enough to condemn these crimes, not when millions of children face a worsening protection crisis. Children living in these areas need concerted action to ensure that they can safely live, go to school or fetch water without fear of being attacked or taken from their families”.
The statement adds that, the international community also has an important role to play, emphases the need for it donors to increase their contributions so as to expand their work to reduce children’s vulnerabilities and increase their resilience to keep them safe from harm.