Extreme islamist terror group, Bokon Haram has launched another cross-border attack in Cameroon, killing 3 people and abducting another 15 on Monday, August 18, 2014.
Speaking to local news outfit, Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, August 19, 2014, a local military source affirmed that the insurgents, numbering about 20 attacked Greya village in northern Cameroon in a bid to obtain food supplies.
According to the source, the terrorists killed at least 3 civilians and abducted over a dozen others – possibly Cameroon nationals – and then leaving, but not before torching the village primary school.
Thisday reports:
Due to the area’s poor communication infrastructure, the Camerounian army was warned too late of the incident, finally arriving “long after the attackers had left,” the source stated.
According to the AFP, the militant group has already been blamed for several previous cross-border attacks from Nigeria.
In a related development, the news agency reported that at least 11 Camerounian boys kidnapped in July by the Islamist militants had escaped.
The boys, aged between seven and 15 years old, had been kidnapped by the militant group during a cross-border attack on Cameroun’s northern town.
“The boys say they were detained near Madagali, a town in Adamawa State, Nigeria. After taking them from Cameroun, Boko Haram had enrolled them at a Quranic school,” the source told Anadolu on condition of anonymity. “Days later, the school was attacked by unknown persons and they took advantage of the confusion to escape,” he added.
On their way back home, the boys reached Vizik, a Nigerian town on the border with Cameroon, from where they managed to secure a lift across the border, according to the same source. The 11 boys have since been handed over to the Camerounian security services, which are still holding them for questioning.
“The story of their escape is not consistent; their journey from Nigeria to Cameroun is not clear,” the source said.
He went on to voice fears that they had not actually escaped but rather had been “enlisted” by Boko Haram to carry out attacks in Cameroun.
“They have provided no clear location of their place of detention in Nigeria. They gave no clue to the fate of others abducted in the same attack, including the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali or even Kolofata Mayor Seiny Boukar Lamine,” he added.
