The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has condemned the continuous use of children for suicide bombings by Boko Haram terrorists.
The UNOCHA said the armed groups used 43 children for suicide bombing between January and June 2018.
In its October 2018 report, UNOCHA said its parent body and partners had appealed for $1.05 billion for 176 projects to be implemented by 60 humanitarian organisations in the north east.
Punch reports that the international agency said the funds were the sixth largest single-country appeal globally, noting that $510 million or 48.7% of the funds had been received by July 2018, according to the Financial Tracking Service.
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“Now in its 10th year, the crisis in North-East Nigeria remains one of the most severe in the world. Since the start of the conflict in 2009, more than 27,000 people have been killed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Thousands of women and girls abducted and children used as so-called suicide bombers. In 2017, 146 children (mainly girls) were used as human bombs. In 2018, 43 children were used in attacks in the first six months.
“Today, 1.8 million people are internally displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Thousands of new arrivals have been recorded in recent months, largely coming from hard-to-reach areas for reasons related to insecurity and military operations.
From November 2017 to mid-August 2018, Borno and Adamawa states have seen the movement of nearly 190,000 individuals. This exacerbates a situation where vulnerabilities are already on the rise as a result of the rainy season from June to September 2018 and resources are already overstretched," UNOCHA said in the report.
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It also added that an estimated 940,000 children aged six months to nine years old are acutely malnourished.
It said that one in every 15 of these children are at risk of death if their malnutrition remains untreated.
“To alleviate the suffering of 6.1 million people in dire need of life-saving aid in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the United Nations and partners appealed for $1.05 billion for 176 projects to be implemented by 60 humanitarian organisations. It is the sixth largest single-country appeal globally. As of 31 July, $510 million (48.7 per cent) of the funds have been received, according to the Financial Tracking Service,” the UN agency said.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the acting general commanding officer, 7 Division, Maiduguri, Brigadier General Abdulmalik Biu, says everything about Boko Haram is ungodly and a crime against humanity that must be resisted by all.
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Biu made the remark during the 2018 harvest thanksgiving and bazaar of Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Catholic Church, Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri.
He called on Christians to remain focus and not relent in prayers towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency.
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Source: Naija.ng