Suicide bomber detained in Cameroon says she’s one of Chibok girls

Fidelis Soriwei and Jesusegun Alagbe

A suspected female suicide bomber who was intercepted in northern Cameroon on Friday before she could blow herself up claimed to be one of the 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok, North-East Nigeria in April 2014, military and local government sources said.

Chibok girls

According to a Reuters report on Friday, two girls carrying explosives were stopped by local self-defence forces in the village of Limani in northern Cameroon.

They were then handed over to Cameroonian soldiers belonging to a multi-national force set up to take on Boko Haram.

Boko Haram militants raided Chibok, Borno State in April 2014, abducting about 300 schoolgirls, who have since been in their captivity.

Despite several promises by former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari, the girls have yet to be found.

“One of them indeed declared that she is one of the Chibok hostages. She is around 15. We are now verifying, because on the Nigerian side they have the names and photos of these girls,” a local government administrator, Raymond Roksdo, told Reuters.

Two military sources, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the press, also confirmed that the girl had claimed to have been one of the Chibok abductees.

“We need a few days to be able to confirm this information. We have to debrief all the men who were present and interrogate the two girls before we can say anything,” one of the military sources said.

Meanwhile, the troops of the Nigerian Army have killed two female suicide bombers who were allegedly planning attacks in Borno State.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said that soldiers of the 7 Division Garrison, Maiduguri, on Friday intercepted the two female suicide bombers around 1.20 am south of Umurari village on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

Usman said that while one of the female suicide bombers detonated the explosives strapped to her body and killed herself on sighting the soldiers, the other was taken out by one of the snipers of the garrison.

He said that the combined team of the army and the Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal detonated the explosive device that was strapped to the body of the late female suicide bomber.

He said the troops and the members of the Civilian Joint Task Force were combing the area to prevent a further breach of peace there.

He said, “The ever alert and vigilant troops of 7 Division Garrison based in Maiduguri, in conjunction with Civilian JTF, averted yet another suicide attack on the innocent citizens of Borno State today.

“The troops intercepted two female suicide bombers at about 1.20am this morning, almost 100 metres south of Umurari village, outskirts of Maiduguri.

“However, one of the suicide bombers, on sighting our troops, detonated her explosive device, killing herself instantly, while the second bomber, in an attempt to escape, was gunned down by one of the garrison snipers.

“The combined team of the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team safely detonated the unexploded Improvised Explosive Devices strapped on the gunned down suicide bomber.

“It is important to state that there was no casualty beyond the two suicide bombers. Presently, the troops and the Civilian JTF deployed in the village are now combing the general area to forestall further breach of security.”

Suicide bomber detained in Cameroon says she’s one of Chibok girls

Cameroon court sentences 89 Boko Haram men to death

Cameroon court has sentenced 89 Boko Haram men to death.

They were convicted on terror charges by a military court for their roles in several attacks in Cameroon’s northern region which borders Nigeria.

Cameroon passed an anti-terror law in 2014 which introduced the death sentence.

This is the first time the death sentenced has been used since that law was passed.

The 89 are among 850 people arrested in Cameroon on charges of links to Boko Haram.

Following the death sentences, a local human rights group has called for reforms to Cameroon’s justice system.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a spate of attacks in Cameroon since it joined a regional force set up to tackle the militants last year.

Cameroon court sentences 89 Boko Haram men to death

Cameroonian soldiers kill 100 Boko Haram, free 900 hostages

… Kill 100 insurgents

Cameroon’s army, with backing from a regional anti-Boko Haram task force, have killed at least 100 Boko Haram militants and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the army and defence ministry said on Wednesday.

“In the course of this operation, at least 100 members of Boko Haram were killed. 900 hostages detained by Boko Haram were freed,” Reuters quoted the Cameroonian army spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck, as saying on the matter.

The defence ministry also cited the same figures in a brief statement on state television.

Cameroonian soldiers kill 100 Boko Haram, free 900 hostages

Cameroonian army captures 19 suspected Boko Haram members

Xinhua

The Cameroonian army claimed to have captured 19 suspected Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram militants, on Monday during a ground and air offensive in Ketta, a town in Cameroon’s Far North Region neighboring Nigeria.

One army source told Xinhua on Tuesday over phone that, the ground troops of Cameroonian army launched an operation assisted by air raids on the suspected Boko Haram militants.

The offensive, which lasted from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time Monday was a success, the source said.

The source said 19 militants in total were captured and the number of militants who were killed is yet to be confirmed.

The military action came after a series of attacks and suicide bomb attacks suspected to be done by Boko Haram militants in Far North Region, leaving many civilians killed.

Cameroonian army captures 19 suspected Boko Haram members

Boko Haram suicide bombers kill three Nigerians in Cameroon

NAN

Two female suicide bombers, suspected of belonging to militant group Boko Haram have killed three Nigerians in a truck full of refugees in a town in Cameroon’s far north region, a local government source, said.

Military sources had said earlier that they suspected the bombers’ target was a nearby mosque in Fotokol.

The first bomb went off during a security check and it was unclear if the second bomber had detonated her bomb or whether she had been killed first by Cameroonian forces.

Boko Haram insurgents had waged a six-year campaign of violence, killing thousands of people and displacing many from their communities in north eastern part of Nigeria.

Neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, joined forces against the group in 2014, as its offensive spread beyond Nigeria’s borders.

Boko Haram suicide bombers kill three Nigerians in Cameroon

US sends surveillance drones, 300 special forces to Cameroon

Edo Govt Issues Flood Warning as Cameroon Opens Dam

By Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Following the opening of a dam in Cameroon, Edo State Government has advised residents living in lowlands, river banks and other flood-prone areas in the state to take proactive action and relocate to safer parts of the state to avoid being affected by floods which may arise.

oshiomhole

The government in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Austin Akhuamhenkhun, on behalf of the Commissioner, said “the Federal Ministry of Environment has alerted on the opening of a dam in the Republic of Cameroon which may lead to flooding in parts of the country in addition to the current heavy rainfall recorded in the year.”

The statement added that the State Government through the Ministry has put in place an action plan to ensure a flood-free 2015 through elaborate and extensive de-siltation exercise of major towns in addition to the ongoing Benin City Storm Water master plan.

“The good people of Edo State are therefore advised to collectively take the following precautions to forestall an incident of flooding and its consequence in the State.

“The people are advised to desist from indiscriminate waste dumping habits that end us blocking the drains which can result in the breeding of mosquitoes, flies and other disease carriers that may eventually result in a high prevalence of malaria, yellow fever, Lassa fever and cholera. Always use the provided waste bins. Ensure to de-silt the drains in front of our houses and cart away same.

“People living in low lands, river banks and other flood-prone areas such as Ilushi, Agenebode, Udaba and others are advised to re-locate to higher grounds. Because of the expected rainfall pattern in 2015, residents are advised to take a second look at the binding of their roofs to ensure that they are firm”, it added.

Additionally, the state government has called on the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to immediately take another look at all their distribution facilities within the state to ensure that they are strong enough to withstand any stormy weather in order to avoid electrocution-related incidents and deaths.

Edo Govt Issues Flood Warning as Cameroon Opens Dam

Boko Haram suicide bombers spread fear in Cameroon

Empty streets, body searches and tips to police embody the fear that Boko Haram has instilled in northern Cameroon, where they killed more than 40 people in suicide bombings in July.

Abubakar Shekau

Raiders from the Nigerian sect later kidnapped 135 villagers and killed eight others in a pre-dawn strike across the border last Tuesday, police and local sources said.

Boko Haram has attacked villages in Cameroon’s Extreme North region for about two years, but the horrific bombings mark a change of tactics, while Cameroonian troops have joined a regional force to tackle the Islamists.

The suicide bombers can be young women and even teenage girls, who behave like locals and blend in at crowded places to cause maximum casualties.

Residents of Maroua, the main town in the Extreme North, were spared until successive blasts tore though the bustling central market and a bar on July 22 and 25. Those bombs killed 33 people and wounded dozens more.

“We’re very worried and no longer know where to turn,” says Albert, a worried father.

“Should we send the children to school when the next school year starts?” he ponders. “Boko Haram is against Western education and may very well carry out attacks on schools.”

The sect’s name loosely translates as “Western education is forbidden”, and Boko Haram notoriously abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in April last year.

Some managed to escape but more than 200 are believed to be held in the large Sambisa forest, where the Nigerian army this week said it had freed 178 captives.

– ‘People like you and me’ –

Boko Haram has frequently massacred students in northeastern Nigeria during an insurgency with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate, at a cost of at least 15,000 lives since 2009.

“When you see somebody who isn’t familiar in the neighbourhood, you call the police,” says Oumarou, who works for a Maroua logistics firm.

He has sent his family away to Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital on the Atlantic, more than 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) away.

Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has meanwhile heaped praise on an astute taxi-motorcycle driver who turned in a 15-year-old boy carrying explosives last week.

The driver found the teen was behaving suspiciously and decided to drive him to a police station, where he was detained. Two other suspects were picked up.

“Their objective was to blow up inside a mosque,” Bakary said.

Security has been tightened repeatedly in Maroua. When the market closes at 5:00 pm, “everybody goes home. There is nobody left on the streets apart from the soldiers,” Oumarou says.

Sources in the security forces believe that Boko Haram infiltrators and sympathisers have operated in Maroua for months, relaying information to their chiefs.

“They are people like you and me,” a Cameroonian army officer says. “It’s almost impossible to identify them.”

Bus terminals catering for southern destinations, notably big cities like Douala and the capital Yaounde, are closely watched. Passengers are always frisked as they board their coaches.

“You feel the threat most because of all the checkpoints on the roads,” says Olivier, a young French expatriate in Douala.

“The police have tightened up their searches. They make us empty our cars completely, and our bags.”

– ‘We no longer know who’s who’ –

In Yaounde, police and troops are omnipresent.

“People have been very ill at ease since there were suicide attacks” in the north, trader Abdoulaye Sani says.

“We no longer know who’s who. I’m afraid when I’m walking… I’m afraid that something will happen, that a bomb will explode and take me with it,” adds the young man.

In one working-class district with a large Muslim community, police last week used strong-arm tactics during searches of houses and mosques. They rounded up several dozen people, according to the local media.

The information minister said that security forces were carrying out a sweep in several parts of the country, which led to the arrest of “many suspects”.

But such assurances fail to reassure.

“We don’t go to parties, we avoid places where there is too much of a crowd,” says Darly, an adolescent in the capital.

“We’re afraid that the suicide bombers will come here to Yaounde,” she said.

 

Boko Haram suicide bombers spread fear in Cameroon

NEMA, Red Cross fume as Cameroon humiliates, deports 2,600 Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram

The National Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross officials have dragged Cameroon authorities to the United Nation High Commission on Refuges over the country’s alleged dehumanization and unlawful repatriation of 2,600 Nigerians.

Hostages freed from Boko Haram

An official of NEMA, Sa’ad Bello, said this while fielding questions from journalists, and added that the manner Internally Displaced Persons from Nigeria were threatened and deported by Cameroonian authority was unacceptable.

“It’s so disturbing that what Cameroon authority did to Nigerians refuges was totally against norms and violation of the International Refuges Rights .

“We only received a call from the men of Nigerian Immigration who were patrolling along Nigeria- Cameroon border.

“They called our attention that there were trucks fully loaded with Nigerians who after investigation are refuges, internally displaced by Boko Haram and repatriated by Cameroon gendarmes,” Mr. Bello said.

He blamed the Cameroon government for not informing the Nigerian authority of the development to enable it prepare well and receive its citizens.

He explained that the IDPs, after thorough investigation were Nigerians from Bama and Gamboru Ngala in Borno state, who escaped from Boko Haram attacks.

He said the agency has formally forwarded its complaint to the country representative of United Nation High Commission on Refuges to look into the situation.

Mr. Bello further explained that the IDPs were dumped by Cameroonian at Sahuda village in Mubi South Local Government Area, a boarder town along Nigeria-Cameroon border.

According to the Coordinator, the victims included men, women children, pregnant and nursing mothers.

“Their situation is pathetic they were traumatized,” he said.

He said the agency, with the assistance of the State Emergency Management Agency, are doing everything possible to convey the IDPs to Yola camps.

Also corroborating, Aliyu Maikano, the representative of Nigeria Red Cross on IDPs in Adamawa, confirmed that the organization heard about the situation.

“We have sent a rescue and first aid teams to assist the IDPs who were dumped by Cameroonian security at the Nigerian boarder.

“The society is liaising with NEMA on how to evacuate the IDPs,” Mr. Maikano said.

NEMA, Red Cross fume as Cameroon humiliates, deports 2,600 Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram

No nation can beat terror in isolation, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night said that Nigeria and neighbouring countries must stand together to defeat the terrorists group, Boko Haram in the sub-region.

President Buhari

He made the remark at a state dinner in Yaounde, during his two-day working visit to Cameroon.

Buhari said that countries in the sub-region cannot afford to falter in their resolve to get rid of the evils of terrorists.

He said: “We recognize that none of us can succeed alone. In order to win this war we need the collective efforts of each one of us, standing together as a formidable force for good, to defeat and end these acts of terror against our people.”

He also informed guests at the dinner hosted by President Paul Biya that the security situation in the region presented an opportunity for Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin to work together for their common security, peace and socio-economic development.

“Let me assure all of my relentless pursuit of all possible means to safeguard Nigeria’s territorial integrity, protect the lives and property of our citizens as well as my commitment to continue to collaborate with Cameroon and our neighbours, within the framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

“The Federal government of Nigeria is committed to respecting international norms to resolve this matter and to restore normalcy to all the affected areas as soon as possible,’’ he said.

Buhari, who had earlier on his arrival on Wednesday held a closed-door session with his host, thanked President Biya for providing refuge to Nigerians who had fled their homes because of the insurgents.

He also commended Cameroon for its support to Nigerian military and security personnel in the fight against terrorism and offered his condolences to the families of the victims of terror in both countries.

He also announced Nigeria’s willingness to expand economic partnerships with Cameroon, through increased joint ventures in infrastructure development, transport and commerce, among others.

Buhari welcomed the achievements so far recorded by the Nigeria-Cameroon Joint Commission and all the landmark agreements signed between both countries.

Describing the relations between both countries as excellent, he recognized the roles played by past and present leaders and Nigerian citizens in sustaining friendly relations with Cameroon.

Biya, while congratulating President Buhari for a successful inauguration into office, said that Buhari’s electoral victory has provided an opportunity for him to preside over the “destiny of Nigeria.”

He said: “Mr President, a dark cloud is looming over our countries even as we welcome you; we are facing the same threat, which may rock the foundation of our two nations.

“This danger bears the name of Boko Haram, its atrocities and crimes are jeopardizing peace around Lake Chad and especially in our two countries.

“The number of dead and victims are rising, economic activities have been crippled in affected areas, the number of refugees and displaced persons are ever increasing.

“We cannot allow this cancer to spread, we must pool our resources and forces and share our experiences,’’ he said.

President Biya, who reaffirmed Cameroon’s commitment in the fight against terror, welcomed the “fresh push” on economic ties between both countries through easing of trade.

“I strongly believe in your readiness to work towards that goal and your visit to Cameroon as well as the discussions we have had have strengthened my conviction.” he said

No nation can beat terror in isolation, says Buhari

Buhari arrives Cameroon to discuss fight against Boko Haram

President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in neighbouring Cameroon on Wednesday for talks on how to combat the escalating regional threat from Boko Haram Islamists.

President Buhari

Security was tight for the 24-hour visit, after a surge of Boko Haram violence in Cameroon including an unprecedented series of five suicide bombings in the far north.

Presidential guard soldiers were posted on rooftops of houses and along the route from the airport to the presidential palace in Yaounde, while vehicles armed with machine-guns patrolled the streets and access to the hotel where Buhari will stay was blocked.

The trip comes a day after Nigeria vowed that a new regional force tasked with fighting the jihadists would go into action soon.

Nigeria‘s presidency said Buhari’s talks with Cameroonian President Paul Biya were part of his “ongoing effort to build a more effective regional coalition against Boko Haram”.

Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since Buhari took office in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.

The Nigerian president has already visited neighbouring Chad and Niger, which have also suffered from attacks by the Islamist fighters.

Nigerian military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade told AFP on Tuesday that the new regional force would be operational “any moment from now”, without giving a specific date.

The 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing inNigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be more effective than the current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency that has claimed some 15,000 lives.

Cameroon itself also announced Tuesday it would be sending 2,000 more troops to the north to take on Boko Haram.

 

Buhari arrives Cameroon to discuss fight against Boko Haram

Cameroon sends another 2000 military to fight Boko Haram

Cameroon will send about 2,000 military reinforcements to the north to fight Boko Haram, the Nigerian jihadist movement behind bloody cross-border raids and suicide bombings, state television said Tuesday.

Cameroonian soldiers patrol on November 12, 2014 in Amchide, northern Cameroon, 1 km from Nigeria. The city was raided by Islamists from Nigeria’s Boko Haram, killing eight cameroonian soldiers and leading the population to flee on October 15, 2014, before another six coordinated attacks that killed at least three civilians in the remote north of the country, on November 9, 2014. Boko Haram’s five-year insurgency in neighboring Nigeria has left thousands dead, and the Islamists have occasionally carried out attacks over the border. Cameroon has deployed more than 1,000 soldiers in the extreme northeast of the country to counter the Islamist threat. AFP PHOTO

“Almost 2,000 extra soldiers will be deployed in the Extreme North region,” on the border with northeastern Nigeria, according to the report on Cameroon Radio-Television, which gave no timetable for the operation.

The reinforcements will raise to 8,500 the number of troops deployed to take on the Boko Haram insurgents, who have attacked villagers and towns inside Cameroon for two years, massacring and abducting civilians.

In the past fortnight, an unprecedented series of five suicide bombings by Boko Haram has claimed dozens of lives, including 33 people killed by teenage girls in three attacks on the market town of Maroua.

Since Sunday, seven people were slain in village raids, three of whom were beheaded, according to local security sources.

Cameroon has joined a regional campaign alongside Chad, Niger and Nigeriaitself to battle Boko Haram, which has killed at least 15,000 people since 2009 in the name of founding an Islamic caliphate.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to Cameroon on Wednesday for talks with President Paul Biya in a bid “to build a strong regional alliance to confront Boko Haram,” Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu told AFP.

After more than seven months of delay, the deployment of a long-awaited Multinational Joint Task Force of 8,700 soldiers, police and civilian personnel has been announced for the end of July.

Nigeria’s small western neighbour, Benin, has been sitting in on high-level military talks and will be a part of the task force, to be based in Chad’s capital N’Djamena.

The Chadian army is engaged in a major military operation against Boko Haram forces that have fallen back on the many islands of Lake Chad, a key location where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria converge.

 

Cameroon sends another 2000 military to fight Boko Haram

Northern Cameroon ban Muslim women from using burqas

Cameroon government has banned burqas (women face veil) in the northern part of the country after two women blow themselves and 12 others last week.

The local governor who disclosed this said the twin attack in Cameroon’s northern town of Totokol killed at least 12 people.

It could be recalled that Chad in the past weeks banned burqas to check the activities of Boko Haram who hide under the veil to deceive the general public before blowing themselves up.

Midjigawa Bakari, the governor said “I took this measure because of the security situation prevailing in the region.

Northern Cameroon ban Muslim women from using burqas

Boko Haram: Cameroon Depots 450 Nigerians

As a proactive measure to guard against a likely attack by the Boko Haram sect, the Cameroonian immigration authorities have deported about 450 Nigerians living illegally in the country.

Those affected were picked up from Kousseri, a border town between Cameroon and Chad where they had initially been sent packing by the authorities in that country.

They were handed to government officials in Mubi, Adamawa State, North-Eastern Nigeria, according to Africa Review, a Kenyan digital news platform.

A Cameroonian official, Mr. Albert Mekondané Obounou, said those affected, “are foreign nationals without valid documents.”

A security source, who asked not to be named, revealed that the move was also part of an agreement reached by countries leading the fight against the insurgents in the sub-region.

“We decided to send home all foreigners without valid papers. Other countries of the sub-region involved in the fight against Boko Haram had advocated this solution to truly fight against the terrorists who infiltrate people,” the source said.

Nationals of other countries affected in the latest crackdown include Chad, Mali. Cameroon said it was only the beginning of a hunt on undocumented foreigners in the country.

Boko Haram: Cameroon Depots 450 Nigerians

Cameroon army kills 86 Boko Haram militants

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Cameroon’s army says it has killed 86 Boko Haram militants and detained 1,000 people suspected of links to the Islamist group, as central African leaders held talks on how to combat its bloody insurgency.

Boko Haram and Nigeria soldiers

Five Cameroonian soldiers were also killed during the clashes in the Waza region near the border with Nigeria, defence ministry spokesman Didier Badjeck said Monday.

Nigeria-based Boko Haram has widened its attacks into neighbouring nations, notably Cameroon and Chad, in a conflict estimated to have claimed a total 13,000 lives since 2009.

Representatives of 10 nations, meeting in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde on Monday under the aegis of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), urged the international community to provide more support in the fightback against the Islamists.

“We have to eradicate Boko Haram,” said Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, as attendees pledged to create a 76-million-euro ($86-million) fund to fight the group.

Biya declared that Boko Haram’s utter disregard for human dignity meant “a total impossibility of compromise”, but added that the fight against terrorism was not a “crusade against Islam”.

Nigeria, where elections have been postponed by six weeks until late March because of Boko Haram activity in swathes of the northeast, was absent from the talks as it is not an ECCAS member.

The aim of Monday’s discussion was to come up with “an agreed solution” on the fight against the extremists, a source close to the Cameroonian government told AFP.

Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria have formed a military alliance to combat the notoriously brutal militants, who are fighting to create a hardline Islamic state.

A Cameroonian army official announced that more than 1,000 people suspected of being affiliated with Boko Haram were being held in the town of Maroua, in the country’s Far North region, where more than 2,000 Cameroonian soldiers have been deployed since August last year.

“At the moment, the prison of Maroua is holding more than 1,000 Boko Haram (suspects),” said Colonel Joseph Nouma, commander of a local operation to combat the Islamist militants.

The detentions came as police in Niger said they had arrested more than 160 people suspected of having links to Boko Haram in the country’s Diffa region, a border area with Nigeria which was attacked by the Islamist group this month.

– ‘Solidarity’ –

Nigeria, which has been most affected by Boko Haram violence, meanwhile announced its troops had recaptured the strategic garrison town of Monguno in the northeast, which had fallen into Boko Haram hands late last month.

“Troops in a military operation spearheaded by highly coordinated air assaults have completed the mission of clearing terrorists from Monguno and environs this morning,” defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said.

With his country’s troops actively engaged in combatting Boko Haram, ECCAS chairman Deby called on nations in the economic group “who have not yet been struck” by the insurgency “to show their solidarity”.

“We also call on the international community to provide its support — in equipment, diplomacy, finance, logistics and humanitarian aid — to the efforts made by ECCAS,” Deby said.

After previous talks in Yaounde, Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin announced on February 7 that they would mobilise a regional force of 8,700 men to fight Boko Haram.

Operational plans for the regional force have yet to be submitted to the Peace and Security Council of the African Union for approval before being sent to the United Nations Security Council, according to a statement released after the regional talks.

In a statement read in Yaounde on his behalf, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that “a purely military solution” would not suffice to deal with Boko Haram.

The fight called for a “multidimensional approach… that will meet the challenges of stabilisation in the long term,” the UN chief said, referring to the region’s economic and social challenges.

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Cameroon army kills 86 Boko Haram militants

Boko Haram abducts 30 in Cameroon

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Suspected Boko Haram fighters launched attacks on three communities in northern Cameroon, abducting more than 30 people including those aboard a packed bus, residents said Monday.

Abubakar Shekau

The assaults by the terror group came as other militants invaded a town in the neighboring country of Niger for the third time in recent days, underscoring the growing regional havoc by Boko Haram.

The militants have stepped up their attacks on neighboring countries as Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin pledge to send troops to help Nigeria squash the extremist group that has killed more than 10,000 people over the past year.

In northern Cameroon, the fighters seized a bus with 20 people aboard late Sunday in Koza and then drove it back toward the Nigerian border, some 11 miles (18 kilometers) away, resident Bouba Kaina told The Associated Press by telephone.

Early Monday, another group of fighters attacked the Cameroonian town of Kolofata, looting food and livestock. The town was recently retaken by Chadian troops who have been helping the Cameroonian military fight Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has taken on an increasingly regional dimension, with the extremists staging attacks in both Cameroon and Niger over the past week.

On Saturday, regional and African Union officials, meeting in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, proposed a force of as many as 8,750 troops to combat Boko Haram, with soldiers coming from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.

Officials said the force could be deployed as early as next month, though funding issues could delay its launch.

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Boko Haram abducts 30 in Cameroon

Boko Haram attacks Bauchi, Yobe, abducts 80 in Cameroon

Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday struck again in Yobe and Bauchi states, killing   11 people, including five soldiers.

The Bauchi attack was carried out by a lone suicide bomber at the Bulala Motor Park in the troubled Potiskum. Five people died and 36 others were injured.

Abubakar Shekau

That of Yobe was   at a military checkpoint in Takanda-Giwa on the Bauchi-Jos Highway. Five soldiers and a civilian passerby were said to have lost their lives to the incident which took place a few hours after the militant Islamist sect abducted 80 people in Cameroon.

A hospital source in Potiskum, who narrated the attack to The PUNCH on the telephone, said   five   bodies, including that of the bomber and   the   injured,   were brought to the General Hospital in the commercial town which in the past three weeks has been attacked thrice.

He said he feared that the death toll might rise as some of those injured were grappling to stay alive.

The source added that nine out   of the 36 injured persons were later referred to the Federal Medical Centres in Azare and Nguru.

A motor park source, Idris AbdulKadir, said the suicide bomber sneaked into Bulala garage   along the   Bauchi-Jos Road   and detonated an explosive device,   killing himself and four others on the spot.

“The explosion went off around 9.50am on Sunday. As I speak, we counted five dead bodies but   many other people are   being conveyed to the hospital in Potiskum for immediate medical attention,” AbdulKadir said.

The PUNCH gathered that the attack at the Bauchi-Jos Highway forced   motorists from Bauchi and Jos   to abandon their vehicles and flee.

Unconfirmed reports had it that the attackers, who killed five soldiers and a civilian, escaped with the soldiers’ Toyota Hilux parked at the checkpoint.

But it could not be confirmed if any of the insurgents died   during the exchange of fire with the soldiers.

A military source, who did not want his name in print, however claimed   that one soldier and a civilian were killed.

A exchange of gunfire between soldiers and the insurgents in Gombi, Adamawa State was reported also reported on Sunday night.

A resident of the town, who gave his name simply as Musa, told our one of correspondents on the telephone,   that the soldiers were repelling the terrorists.

“The soldiers, with the assistance of riot policemen,   are   dealing with insurgents,” Umar said.

Also on Sunday, Reuters new agency   quoted Cameroonian   officials as saying that Boko Haram Boko     abducted   30 adults and 50 young children.

But the   Agence France Presse said in a report on Sunday that the sect   attacked two villages in   Tourou   in Cameroon’s Far North region and left with 60 people.

“They torched houses and left with around 60 people. Most of these people were women and children,” a police officer told the agency.

Boko Haram which is in control of some communities in   Nigeria’s North-East had   threatened   Cameroon and other countries that have common borders with Nigeria.

Last year, 27 people seized in Cameroon by suspected Boko Haram fighters were held for months before being freed in October. They included 10 Chinese workers and the wife of Cameroon’s Vice-Prime Minister Amadou Ali.

Earlier this month, Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, released a video threatening Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, who has been vocal in his criticism of the group.

Meanwhile, a   contingency of soldiers from Chad has arrived in Maroua in northern Cameroon, where it will be deployed in the Nigerian border as part of efforts to contain the Boko Haram insurgency.

A spokesman for Cameroon’s Defence ministry, Col. Didier Badjeck, who made this known on Sunday, did not say how many troops had been deployed by Chad.

“In the coming days, they will be deployed in the war zone on the border with Nigeria so that they can join our defence forces to crush and prevent incursions of Boko Haram into Cameroonian territory,” he said.

Biya, who recently appealed for international assistance against Boko Haram, announced earlier this week that he was expecting the arrival of a large Chadian force to support his country’s efforts against the militants.

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.

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Boko Haram attacks Bauchi, Yobe, abducts 80 in Cameroon

Chad deploys soldiers to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

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N’Djamena (AFP) – Dozens of Chadian tanks headed out of the capital Friday south towards Cameroon to help fight Nigeria’s dreaded Boko Haram insurgents.

President Jonathan, Ali Modu Sheriff & President Deby of Chad on Monday in Ndjamena

The convoy seen by an AFP journalist roared out of the city after Chad’s parliament voted to send armed forces to Cameroon and Nigeria to fight against the Islamists.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya had announced Thursday that Chad President Idriss Deby had decided to send “a substantial contingent” of troops to help Cameroonian armed forces who have faced repeated attcks from Boko Haram.

A source close to the army said the force had begun preparing for departure on Thursday.

Earlier on Friday, Chad’s parliament in N’Djamena voted 150 to 0 to send an unspecified number of “Chadian armed troops and security forces to assist Cameroonian and Nigerian soldiers waging war against the terrorists in Cameroon and Nigeria”.

Boko Haram is fighting to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria along the border with Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Cameroon has been critical of the passivity of the Nigerian authorities and the international community in the face of Boko Haram aggression.

Since Boko Haram’s insurgency began, around 135,000 people have fled the restive northeast of Nigeria country and at least 850,000 have been displaced inside the region.

So far Chad has been spared, but only a narrow strip of land separate it from the Islamists’ headquarters in the Nigerian state of Borno.

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Chad deploys soldiers to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram

Cameroonian troops kill 143 Boko Haram fighters

Yaoundé – Cameroon’s army has said it killed 143 Boko Haram fighters, with the government saying it was the biggest defeat it had inflicted to date on the Islamist group.

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The government spokesman, Issa Bakary, made the announcement on Tuesday in Yaoundé.

He said the insurgents were killed after they attacked a military camp in Kolofata, in the north of Cameroon.

The military initially said that 143 Boko Haram fighters had died in the over five hours of fighting.

Bakary said the battle ended after the army bombed the attackers, forcing them to retreat to the Nigerian border.

“ However, Cameroon lost one soldier,’’ he said.

The Central African country has deployed over 1,000 troops in its Far North region, where Boko Haram members frequently enter from Nigeria to stage attacks.

Boko Haram, which wanted to create an Islamist state in Nigeria, had killed thousands of people in the country’s north east in 2014.

 

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Cameroonian troops kill 143 Boko Haram fighters

Boko Haram leader threatens Cameroon in new video

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened Cameroon in a video message on YouTube, warning that the same fate would befall the country as neighbouring Nigeria.

Abubakar Shekau

The video, which was posted on January 5, is directly addressed to Cameroon’s President Paul Biya after repeated fighting between militants and troops in the country’s far north.

“Oh Paul Biya, if you don’t stop this your evil plot, you will taste what has befallen Nigeria… Your troops cannot do anything to us,” Shekau said in Arabic.

It is first time Shekau has directly addressed Cameroon and is also the first admission that Boko Haram has been actively operating in the country.

Boko Haram fighters had in the past launched attacks on northeastern Nigeria from bases in Cameroon but recent months have seen an increase in strikes within the country.

Boko Haram, which began its violent insurgency in 2009, has taken over swathes of territory in three northeastern Nigerian states, and declared some towns as part of its Islamic caliphate.

Cameroon’s far north has come increasingly into the group’s firing line and on December 28, Yaounde deployed fighter jets against Boko Haram for the first time.

Biya personally ordered the air strike after the insurgents crossed the border and seized a military camp, the government said on December 29.

The aerial bombardment, hailed as a new phase in the counter-insurgency, forced the Islamists to flee, it added.

Cameroon’s president has made a series of strong statements against Boko Haram and in October last year vowed to go after the group “until it’s totally wiped out”.

In May last year, he said that a Paris meeting of Nigeria’s neighbours was designed to “declare war on Boko Haram”.

But a key agreement at the summit to set up a regional force has yet to be implemented, with Cameroon increasingly vocal in its criticisms about the lack of a coordinated response to Boko Haram.

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Boko Haram leader threatens Cameroon in new video