Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) Almost 900 children who were recruited into the ranks of an anti-Boko Haram militia in Nigeria have been released, UNICEF said Friday.

The 894 children, including 106 girls, were recruited by the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria.

CJTF is a local militia created in 2013 to fight insurgency in the region.

UNICEF said more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017 for the ongoing conflict in northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram has fought for more than a decade, burning villages and attacking military bases.

Nigerian children released by armed group Civilian Joint Task Force.

"We cannot give up the fight for the children, as long as children are still affected by the fighting. We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria," said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Nigeria representative.

Read More </s> ABUJA - Nearly 900 children, including some as young as 13, have been freed by a pro-government militia fighting against Islamist Boko Haram insurgents, the UN children’s agency has said.

More than 1,700 children have now been released by Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia thatworks closely with the military to fight Boko Haram and signed a commitment to end the recruitment and use of children in 2017.

Non-state armed groups embroiled in the decade-long conflict against Boko Haram recruited more than 3,500 children between 2013 and 2017 in Nigeria’s north-east, according to Unicef.

“[This] is a step in the right direction for the protection of children’s rights and must be recognised and encouraged,” said Unicef’s Nigeria chief, Mohamed Fall, following the children’s release on Friday.

“Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict. They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence.” The UN’s annual report on children and armed conflict, released last year, found that 1,092 children, the majority of them boys (738), were recruited and used by armed groups in 2017. It described Boko Haram, which has been condemned for its use of children as suicide bombers, as the main perpetrator.

The 894 children, released at a ceremony in the north-eastern town of Maiduguri, were aged between 13 and 19. They were were recruited in 2017.

Children who had been separated from their families will be reunited from Saturday, said Kusali Nellie Kubwalo of Unicef Nigeria, adding that they will also be offered support to get education and training: “There’s an assessment to see what support can be given … whether they want to go back to school, so we can link them to the right school.”

Last October, 833 children were released by the Civilian Joint Task Force, whose commitment to end the recruitment of children was heralded as a landmark moment when the agreement was signed in September 2017, after a year of negotiations with the UN.

Nigeria’s war against two jihadist groups, Boko Haram and Islamic State west Africa province, which has left more than 30,000 people dead and displaced millions more, shows no signs of being resolved.

The Civilian Joint Task Force is formed largely from vigilante groups in response to the Boko Haram insurgency. Some credit the group with protecting communities in areas poorly guarded by the military, but it has also been accused of rape and human rights abuses by Human Rights Watch and other rights organisations.

Unicef’s work in north-east Nigeria has at times angered authorities. In December, the military briefly suspended the agency’s work amid allegations that Unicef staff spied on behalf of militants in the restive region.

The north-east of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and biggest energy producer, is rife with abuses on both sides of the conflict – from the recruitment of children to extrajudicial killings and rapes, according to human rights groups. </s> NEARLY 900 children held by a pro-government militia force fighting Boko Haram insurgents in north eastern Nigeria were freed on Friday, the UN said.

The 894 children, including 106 girls, had been in the ranks of the government-backed Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a local militia which supports regular soldiers battling the Islamist insurgents. (AFP) </s> A local militia group that supports the Nigerian government in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents has released nearly 900 children, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said Friday.

UNICEF said the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) released 894 children Friday in the northeastern town of Maiduguri "as part of its commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children."

The CJTF was created in 2013 by a U.S.-led global coalition to help protect communities from attacks by Islamist insurgents in northeast Nigeria. But the militia has also recruited hundreds of children.

"Children in northeast Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict," said UNICEF Nigerian representative Mohamed Fall. "They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence."

The CJTF signed an "action plan" in 2017 that included a vow to stop recruiting child soldiers and to release the ones who were in its fold. Since then, UNICEF said 1,727 children had been released.

UNICEF said the newly-released children will be enrolled in a program to help them transition to civilian life. To help with reintegration, they will receive educational support and vocational training.

Boko Haram has also recruited thousands of children in a decade-long uprising to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria. Between 2013 and 2017, more than 3,500 children were "recruited and used" by armed opposition groups, UNICEF said. The agency said other children have been killed, raped, maimed and kidnapped.

"We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria," Fall said. </s> Nearly 900 children held by a pro-government militia force fighting Boko Haram insurgents in northeastern Nigeria were freed on Friday, the UN said.

The 894 children, including 106 girls, had been in the ranks of the government-backed Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a local militia which supports regular soldiers battling the Islamist insurgents.

At a ceremony in the northeastern town of Maiduguri, they were released as part of the CJTF's "commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children," the UN children's agency (UNICEF) said.

"Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict," said UNICEF chief in Nigeria Mohamed Fall.

"They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence."

The CJTF is a militia formed in 2013 to protect communities from attack, but it has also recruited hundreds of children.

In 2017, the militia signed a promise to stop recruiting child soldiers and release the ones they hold.

The children freed on Friday bring the total released since then to 1,727 children, UNICEF said.

It was not clear how many children remain in its ranks, but the UN welcomed the news on Friday.

"Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children's rights, and must be recognised and encouraged," Fall said.

The freed children will be enrolled into a reintegration programme with education and training to help them return to civilian life.

Boko Haram's decade-long uprising to establish a hardline Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast has spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The jihadis have also recruited thousands of children to fight in their ranks.

"We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria," Fall said, noting that children "have been abducted, maimed, raped and killed." </s> Almost 900 children who were recruited into the ranks of an anti-Boko Haram militia in Nigeria have been released, UNICEF said Friday.

The 894 children, including 106 girls, were recruited by the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria.

UNICEF said more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017 for the ongoing conflict in northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram has fought for more than a decade, burning villages and attacking military bases.

“We cannot give up the fight for the children, as long as children are still affected by the fighting. We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Nigeria representative.

UNICEF says 1,727 children have been released since CJTF signed an action plan in 2017 to end child recruitment. The UN agency said it is working with the Nigerian government and local authorities to help reintegrate those released.

Boko Haram fighters have carried out mass kidnappings, assassinations and market bombings. They have killed soldiers in territories the military said it had reclaimed.

In January, almost 30,000 people fled villages to Cameroon, according to the UN Refugee agency. </s> The jihadis have also recruited thousands of children to fight in their ranks. "We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria," Fall said, noting that children "have been abducted, maimed, raped and killed.

Maiduguri: Nearly 900 children held by a pro-government militia force fighting Boko Haram insurgents in northeastern Nigeria were freed on Friday, the UN said. The 894 children, including 106 girls, had been in the ranks of the government-backed Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a local militia which supports regular soldiers battling the Islamist insurgents.

At a ceremony in the northeastern town of Maiduguri, they were released as part of the CJTF's "commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children," the UN children's agency (UNICEF) said. "Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict," said UNICEF chief in Nigeria Mohamed Fall. "They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence." The CJTF is a militia formed in 2013 to protect communities from attack, but it has also recruited hundreds of children. In 2017, the militia signed a promise to stop recruiting child soldiers and release the ones they hold.

The children freed on Friday bring the total released since then to 1,727 children, UNICEF said. It was not clear how many children remain in its ranks, but the UN welcomed the news on Friday. "Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children's rights, and must be recognised and encouraged," Fall said. The freed children will be enrolled into a reintegration programme with education and training to help them return to civilian life. Boko Haram's decade-long uprising to establish a hardline Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast has spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The jihadis have also recruited thousands of children to fight in their ranks. "We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria," Fall said, noting that children "have been abducted, maimed, raped and killed."
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Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates </s> ABUJA (Reuters) - A regional militia allied with Nigerian government forces freed on Friday almost 900 children it had used in the war against Islamist Boko Haram insurgents, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

The move brought the total number of children freed to more than 1,700, a UNICEF statement said. Non-state armed groups embroiled in the decade-long conflict against Boko Haram recruited more than 3,500 children between 2013 and 2017 in Nigeria's northeast, according to UNICEF.

"(This) is a step in the right direction for the protection of children's rights and must be recognised and encouraged," UNICEF Nigeria chief Mohamed Fall said in the statement, referring to Friday's release by the militia group, which works closely with the military to fight Boko Haram.

"Children of northeast Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict. They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence."

The militia group had committed in September 2017 to ending their use of children in the conflict. Last October, 833 were released by the group.

It is not clear how many children in total have been drawn into Nigerian armed groups, including Boko Haram, or how they have been recruited. Videos seen by Reuters show child soldiers rescued from Boko Haram demonstrating to Nigerian troops how they were trained to fight and shoot rifles.

Nigeria's war against two jihadist groups, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, has left more than 30,000 people dead and displaced millions more, with the Islamist insurgencies showing little sign of ending.

Residents of northeast Nigeria formed the militia, called the Civilian Joint Task Force, to help take on Boko Haram, which arose from the same communities. Some credit the militia with making early headway against Boko Haram in urban areas, using its local knowledge to identify people affiliated with the militants, although also drawing allegations that it sometimes used its power to settle scores in localised feuds.

UNICEF's work in northeast Nigeria has at time angered authorities. In December, the military briefly suspended the agency's work amid allegations that UNICEF staff spied on behalf of militants in the restive region.

The northeast of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and biggest energy producer, is rife with abuses on both sides of the conflict - from the recruitment of children to extrajudicial killings and rapes, according to human rights groups.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Your guide to the latest election news, analysis, commentary, live updates and schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on firstpost.com/elections. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook page for updates from all 543 constituencies for the upcoming general elections. </s> A regional militia allied with Nigerian government forces released on Friday almost 900 children it had used in the war against Islamist Boko Haram insurgents, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

The move brought the total number of children released to more than 1,700, a UNICEF statement said. Non-state armed groups embroiled in the decade-long conflict against Boko Haram recruited more than 3,500 children between 2013 and 2017 in Nigeria's northeast, according to UNICEF.

"(This) is a step in the right direction for the protection of children's rights and must be recognised and encouraged," UNICEF Nigeria chief Mohamed Fall said in the statement, referring to Friday's release by the militia group, which works closely with the military to fight Boko Haram.

"Children of northeast Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict. They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence."

The militia group had committed in September 2017 to ending their use of children in the conflict. Last October, 833 were released by the group.

It is not clear how many children in total have been drawn into Nigerian armed groups, including Boko Haram, or how they have been recruited. Videos seen by Reuters show child soldiers rescued from Boko Haram demonstrating to Nigerian troops how they were trained to fight and shoot rifles.
About 900 children are released from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a militia formed in Nigeria to counter Boko Haram.