Cameroonian soldiers have killed 27 members of the Islamist group, Boko Haram, near a border town with Nigeria.
Reuters quoted Cameroon’s state
radio on Wednesday, saying the insurgents crossed the border into
Cameroon earlier this week, after attacking a military base and police
station in Gamboru Ngala in Borno State.
“Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 Boko
Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the
far-north,” the state radio, CRTV said,.
It added that the deaths occurred on Monday and Tuesday. There was no word on any Cameroonian casualties.
A Cameroonian soldier in the region said
the militants had been pushed back into Nigeria, with calm returning to
the area on Wednesday.
In recent weeks, Boko Haram, which is
seeking to carve out a de facto Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has
stepped up attacks in Cameroon, leading the central African country to
increase deployments along its border with Nigeria..
President Paul Biya dismissed two senior
army officers last month following attacks in which at least seven
people were killed and the wife of the vice prime minister was kidnapped
Meanwhile, the insurgents have attempted
blowing up a bridge on the Nigerian border with Cameroon after
overrunning a town and sending residents as well as soldiers fleeing.
A Cameroonian police officer stationed
in Fotokol told the Agence France Presse that the militants tried on
Tuesday to destroy the bridge, which leads to Gamboru Ngala in Borno
State.
Three children were reportedly injured
by flying shrapnel when explosives were detonated, possibly by firing
from the Cameroonian side of the border on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment