Some 833 children have been released by an armed group fighting against terror group Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria, according to UNICEF.
The UN Children’s Agency welcomed the news which it said was the first formal release of children from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a group formed in 2013 by vigilantes to battle Boko Haram, since it signed an action plan to end and prevent child recruitment in September last year.
“This is a significant milestone in ending the recruitment and use of children, but many more children remain in the ranks of other armed groups in either combat or support roles,” said Pernille Ironside, deputy representative of UNICEF Nigeria. “We call on all parties to stop recruiting children and let children be children.”
The release took place in the city of Maiduguri where members of the United Nations Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting on grave child rights violations has determined there were 1,175 boys and 294 girls associated with the CJTF, although that number has yet to be verified and could include another 2,200 or more children.
UNICEF says that since 2017, it has supported more than 8,700 children released by armed groups.