Amnesty International published a report recently on the situation in Niger that highlighted the devastating consequences of war for children. In Niger's Tillabéri region, hundreds of people have died or fled their homes, and food reserves and livestock have been attacked. Armed groups in this region, such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, are increasingly targeting children.
As the report states, many Nigerien children have been killed, deprived of the opportunity to go to school, or forcibly displaced. Young boys are increasingly recruited to be soldiers, while girls in some areas of the region have faced restrictions on their ability to leave the home and, at times, have been forced to marry fighters. According to Amnesty International, Niger is at a precipice: an entire generation of children is growing up surrounded by death and destruction.
...