In this Wednesday, June, 25, 2014, file photo, a Nigerian soldier, center, walks at the scene of an explosion suspected to be set by Boko Haram extremist in Abuja, Nigeria. An “alarming spike” in suicide bombings by girls and women abused by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria has children in danger of being seen as potential threats, the U.N. children’s agency said Tuesday, May 26, 2015.Olamikan Gbemiga/The Associated Press
Children are now being seen as potential threats after an "alarming spike" in suicide bombings by girls and women being used by Boko Haram militants in northeastern Nigeria, the U.N. children's agency said Tuesday.
The number of reported suicide attacks has jumped to 27 in the first five months of this year compared to 26 for all of last year, it said.
Tuesday's report came as Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno state visited the site of the latest Boko Haram attack and surveyed the damage: 37 people killed Sunday, 400 buildings razed, including mosques, and 22 vehicles and dozens of motorcycles torched.
"I appeal to you not to flee from your homes. We assure you that we are going to rebuild the ancient town of Gubio," Shettima pleaded.
But locals said hundreds of traumatized residents have already fled to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital 90 kilometres (55 miles) away.
A civilian self-defence fighter, Yusuf Modu Gubio, said he killed some insurgents in Sunday's attack but "to my surprise, they were mostly young boys and teenagers."
It's not known how many thousands of boys, girls and women have been kidnapped by Boko Haram but new abductions are being reported every week. UNICEF said it estimates that 743,000 children have been uprooted by the nearly 6-year-old Islamic uprising, with as many as 10,000 separated from their families in the chaos.
It said women and children have carried out three-quarters of all reported Boko Harem suicide bombings — with girls blamed for nine such attacks since July.
"They are first and foremost victims — not perpetrators," said Jean Gough, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria.
The agency is concerned that children will increasingly be perceived as "potential threats," putting them in danger of retaliation and jeopardizing their return home.