This report examines the rapidly worsening situation for children in Niger’s Tillabéri region, which borders Mali and Burkina Faso. Armed groups have perpetrated war crimes and other human rights abuses. Their attacks have forced many schools to close, robbing tens of thousands of children of an education. Older boys have been targeted for recruitment and killed. In some areas, women and girls have been prohibited from activities outside the home and, at times, forced to marry fighters. Nigerien authorities have done little to protect civilians, abandoning areas to abusive armed groups and responding slowly to attacks.
