The United Nations voiced alert on Tuesday at Boko Haram jihadists' surging role of children, mainly girls, equally human bombs inwards northeastern Nigeria, describing the do equally an "atrocity".
The Islamists convey for several years been using children to assail crowded markets, mosques together with camps for internally displaced people inwards northeast Nigeria together with the broader Lake Republic of Chad region.
But the United Nations children's way said on Tuesday that at that spot had been an appalling growth inwards the savage together with calculated role of children, particularly girls, equally so-called "human bombs".
Since the starting fourth dimension of the year, 83 children convey been used to demeanour out bomb attacks inwards northeast Nigeria - 4 times equally many attacks equally inwards all of 2016, Unicef said inwards a statement.
Fifty-five of the children used equally bombers were girls, nearly of them nether the historic menstruum of 15, 27 were boys together with ane was a babe strapped to a girl, United Nations numbers show.
Since 2014, a full of 125 children convey been used equally bombers inwards northeast Nigeria, according to Unicef.
Boko Haram had sometimes, exactly non always, claimed responsibleness for the attacks, the way added.
It stressed that the children used equally "human bombs are, to a higher identify all, victims, non perpetrators."
The way pointed out that the role of children inwards such attacks had too created suspicion together with fright of children who had been released, rescued of had escaped from Boko Haram.
"As a result, many children who convey managed to popular off away from captivity confront rejection when they endeavour to reintegrate into their communities, compounding their suffering," it said.
Children inwards northeastern Nigeria are too struggling to endure a massive displacement together with malnutrition crisis, triggered past times Boko Haram's bloody insurgency.
The violence, which began inwards 2009, has killed at to the lowest degree twenty 000 people together with forced around 2.6 ane K 1000 others to flee their homes.
Nearly one-half a ane K 1000 children inwards the share are at run a hazard of severe needlelike malnutrition this twelvemonth alone, Unicef said.
AFP