United Nations, Dhu-AlHijjah 4, 1436, Sep 18, 2015, SPA -- As the number of attacks by Boko Haram extremists in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries has risen, 500,000 children have been forced to flee to safety in the past five months, bringing the total number of displaced children in the region to 1.4 million, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Friday. “Each of these children running for their lives is a childhood cut short,” Manuel Fontaine, the UNICEF regional director for west and central Africa, said in a statement. “It’s truly alarming to see that children and women continue to be killed, abducted, and used to carry bombs.” UNICEF, working with the governments of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, is increasing its operations to assist thousands of children and their families with access to safe water, education, counseling, and psychosocial support, as well as vaccinations and treatment for severe malnutrition. --SPA 21:34 LOCAL TIME 18:34 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w