Authorities detain 84 young schoolkids in Boko Haram raids

A total of 84 children are being held in Cameroon after a series of raids on schools accused of supporting Boko Haram, human rights activists say.

Amnesty International said some of the children are as young as five years old, and have been held for months without any charges.

Authorities say the Koranic schools they were attending in Cameroon’s far north were actually training camps for the Boko Haram extremist group.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa, urged Cameroonian officials to release the children to their parents.

Nearly all the children are under 15, the age at which they can face criminal charges under a regional human rights charter, of which Cameroon is a signatory.