Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on school attacks in Afghanistan and Cameroon

NEW YORK, 24 October 2020 — “This has been a deadly weekend for schoolchildren in Afghanistan and Cameroon.

“Earlier today, an attack outside an educational center in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi area left 16 people dead and 45 people injured, many of them women and children.

“Thousands of miles away, an attack on a confessional bilingual college in Kumba, in south-west Cameroon, killed 8 children and injured another 12.

“I am shocked and outraged at these abominable attacks and condemn them in the strongest possible terms.

“Attacks on education are a grave violation of children’s rights. Schools must be places of safety and learning, not death traps.

“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims.

“Parties to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Cameroon must abide by the rules of war and protect children at all times. The perpetrators of these acts must be held accountable.”