Since 2013, West African terrorist group Boko Haram has captured upwards of 1,000 girls, according to a recent report released by the United Nations Children's Agency.

The actions of this terrorist network began to make headlines after its April 14, 2014, abduction of 276 girls from the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok. Only a little over half of the schoolgirls have since been returned to their families, while the other 100 remain captive.

"The four-year anniversary of the Chibok abduction reminds us that children in northeastern Nigeria continue to come under attack at a shocking scale," Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF representative in Nigeria, said in a statement Friday. "They are consistently targeted and exposed to brutal violence in their homes, schools and public places."

Boko Haram has ravaged the region since its occupation nine years ago. UNICEF reports that 2,295 teachers have been killed and over 1,400 schools have been destroyed over that period. And, still today, the group continues to kidnap children.

"The crisis continues to displace thousands of vulnerable women, children, and men every week," Edward Kallon, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, said in a statement in March.

Often times, girls and women who fight back are killed by captors. The Nigerian jihadist group seeks to establish an Islamic state in the northeastern part of Nigeria, according to ABC News. Children have been the easiest target for them.

"These repeated attacks against children in schools are unconscionable," Fall said. "Children have the right to education and protection, and the classroom must be a place where they are safe from harm."

"I was terrified, I was sure they'd kill me."

A harrowing account from our archive of one teenager's ordeal when Boko Haram came to her village. #ChildrenUnderAttack
pic.twitter.com/FYkH4nFSKW

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) April 14, 2018

West African terrorist group

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week