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At least 20 Boko Haram Captives Taken In Cameroon Freed

At least 20 of up to 80 people taken hostage by Boko Haram militants in Cameroon at the weekend are reported to be free. Cameroon’s … Continue reading At least 20 Boko Haram Captives Taken In Cameroon Freed


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-At least 20 of up to 80 people taken hostage by Boko Haram militants in Cameroon at the weekend are reported to be free.

Cameroon’s defence ministry said the hostages were freed “as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria”.

Suspected Boko Haram Islamist fighters from Nigeria kidnapped around 80 people, many of them children, and killed three others on Sunday in a cross-border attack on villages in northern Cameroon, army and government officials said.

The suspected militants arrived in the early hours of Sunday when it was still dark and left in the direction of Nigeria with scores of hostages.

Cameroon’s Information Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, confirmed the attacks saying between 30 and 50 people were taken in the raids – although he said an exact number was difficult to establish as investigations were ongoing.

“They burnt to ashes almost 80 houses,” he said.

“We are dealing with barbaric people, lawless people,” Bakary said. “Nothing can prevent them from assassinating.”

“According to our initial information, around 30 adults, most of them herders, and 50 young girls and boys aged between 10 and 15 years were abducted,” a senior army officer deployed to northern Cameroon told Reuters.

Cameroon has criticised Nigeria for failing to do more to confront Boko Haram.

Sunday’s kidnappings, among the largest abductions on Cameroonian soil, came as neighbouring Chad deployed troops to support Cameroon’s forces in the area.

Chad has a reputation as one of the region’s best militaries and helped French forces drive al Qaeda-linked Islamists from northern Mali in 2013.

Government officials in N’Djamena say the deployment to Cameroon includes around 2,000 soldiers, armoured vehicles and attack helicopters.

In a video posted online this month, a man claiming to be Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, threatened to step up violence in neighbouring Cameroon unless it scraps its constitution and embraces Islam.

The group, which has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds in its bid to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has also targeted Cameroon and Niger over the past year as it seeks to expand its zone of operations.

On Friday, Ghana’s President, John Mahama, said African leaders would discuss plans this week to “deal permanently” with Boko Haram, and suggested a multinational force may be considered.