Boko Haram News: Group Reportedly Releases Photos of Child Soldiers in Training
A media group associated with Boko Haram released photos of a military training camp for children in northeastern Nigeria, according to Newsweek.
Al-Urwa al-Wuthaqa published a photo of a group of children dressed in black clothes with their heads covered in black garments while aiming their weapons.
Some of the children are holding actual AK47 assault rifles while others just have the cutout version of the weapon.
"Terrorist organizations have power in numbers," Max Abrahms, professor of political science at Northwestern University and member at the Council of Foreign Relations, said.
He explained that Boko Haram continues to recruit children to boost its numbers.
"The more members in the group, the greater its capability," he said. "There is a correlation between the membership size of a terrorist group and its ability to inflict bloodshed."
Coordinator of the Nigeria Security Network said the Nigerian militant group is struggling to recruit members.
"To fill the gap they've turned to recruiting children and recruiting in neighboring countries," he said.
"Boko Haram often uses its child soldiers and other forced recruits to form the first wave of an attack, before sending in the more experienced fighters to finish off operations."
They also are believed to recruit children so that their message will continue through the young soldiers.
Meanwhile, voting out the current Nigerian government has become an issue for many people who fled certain areas as a result of Boko Haram, according to The Daily Beast.
"I cannot leave Abuja for Chibok just to go back to vote," Musa, a Nigerian resident who fled the nation's capital, said. "I know if I go there I may not even come back alive. Those insurgents can come back at any time."
Nigeria's constitution says voters are required to vote at polls located where they registered. Many will opt out of voting for fear of losing their life if they go back to the same places they have fled.
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