UN gets release of 876 children detained by Nigeria military
LAGOS: The
UN Children's Fund says it has negotiated the release of 876 children
detained at a Nigerian army barracks that holds people suspected of
helping the Boko Haram extremist group. West Africa director Manuel
Fontaine says the agency fears more children are at least temporarily
detained.
He spoke today following a
visit to Maiduguri, the northeastern city that is home to the army's
Giwa Barracks. The Associated Press has documented the deaths of
thousands of detainees there. Amnesty International this year called for
its closure, saying that babies and children are among many detainees
dying from disease, hunger, dehydration and untreated gunshot wounds.
Fontaine
says the children had been living in Boko Haram-held areas and were
detained when those areas were liberated. Nigeria's army denies
ill-treating detainees.
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