UN slams "almost unimaginable" Boko Haram violence in Nigeria

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United Nations has accused the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram of "almost unimaginable" violence and brutality in Nigeria, BBC News reports.

Stephen O'Brien, the UN humanitarian coordinator, said the militant group's actions had forced thousands to flee and left unprecedented numbers in need.

The UN estimates that more than nine million people in the region need humanitarian assistance.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

O'Brien told the UN Security Council that Nigeria was bearing "the brunt of the crisis", with Nigerians accounting for seven of the nine million people in need.

He said Boko Haram's "heinous, barbaric and unconscionable" violence had led to serious human rights violations in the country.

"From January to June 2016, more than 50 children have been coerced to carry out suicide bombings across the four countries," he said, according to BBC.

The UN's children's agency Unicef warned last week that almost 250,000 children in parts of Nigeria's Borno state, formerly controlled by Boko Haram, were suffering from severe malnutrition.