UNICEF issued Monday a report saying that nearly 800 thousands children were forced to escape violence in Nigeria as a result of the clashes between the extremist group Boko Haram and military forces. The report reveals that the number of children forced to escape violence in Nigeria has more than doubled in less than a year. UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa Manuel Fontaine said, "Scores of girls and boys have been lost in Nigeria. They could be abducted, recruited, attacked, used as weapons, or even forced to flee violence. They have the right to get their childhoods back." Furthermore, the report highlighted that the extremist group works to recruit the children in its ranks as fighters, while the young women and girls face forced marriage, rape and slavery. Students and teachers have been targeted, as more than 300 schools were destroyed, and 196 teachers and 314 students were killed by the end of 2014, according to the report. UNICEF provided humanitarian aids to over 60 thousand children affected by the clashes in Nigeria, in the last six months. The international organization works to provide them with drinking water, health aids, and education opportunity through establishing temporary places for education. Moreover, UNICEF urged the international community to provide financial aid for these children, as it only received 15% of the US$26.5 million needed for humanitarian aid in Nigeria for 2015.
