Cameroon frees 24 hostages after B’Haram kidnapping

Cameroon’s army has freed 24 out
of some 80 hostages kidnapped
during a cross-border attack by
suspected Boko Haram Islamist
fighters, Reuters quoted a
Cameroonian defence ministry
spokesman to have said on Monday.
The kidnapping, which occurred in
the north of Cameroon on Sunday
around the village of Mabass, was
one of the largest abductions on
Cameroonian soil. Many children
were among the hostages.
“The Cameroon army was able to
free about 24 hostages taken
yesterday (Sunday) by Boko Haram
in the far north. They were freed as
defence forces pursued the
attackers who were heading back
to Nigeria,” said ministry
spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of
people and kidnapped hundreds in
its bid to carve out an Islamic state
in northern Nigeria. In recent
months, it has targeted
neighbouring Cameroon and Niger
as it seeks to expand its zone of
operations.
At the weekend, Chad deployed
troops to help Cameroon in its
efforts to tackle the insurgency in
the area. On the Sunday abductions,
a senior army officer deployed to
northern Cameroon had said,
“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.”
He said the early-morning attack
had targeted the village of Mabass
and other villages along the porous
border. Soldiers intervened and
exchanged fire with the raiders for
around two hours, he added.
Government spokesman, Issa
Tchiroma, confirmed the attack, in
which he said three people had
been killed, as well as the
kidnappings. He was not able to say
with certainty how many people
had been taken in the raid.
“There was a Boko Haram attack on
several localities in the Far North
region. The assailants burnt down
about 80 homes and kidnapped
several inhabitants including
women and very young children,”
he said.

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