Concerns deepen over attacks against children and child abductions in parts of West and Central Africa

Executive Director of the Unit­ed Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Henrietta Fore, has lamented that 150 children were reportedly abducted from a school in Kaduna State, Nigeria, on July 5, marking the latest inci­dent in trend of attacks against children and abductions, including students, in parts of West and Central Africa.

The statement reads in parts: “Such incidents appear to be increasing in frequency, rais­ing fears for the safety and well being of the region’s children. Already in 2020, according to the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, one in three child victims of grave violations has been in West and Central Africa.”