back to top

Boko Haram Fighters Killed In Cameroon Air Strikes

Scores of Boko Haram terrorists have been killed in Cameroon after the country’s military forces launched air strikes over the weekend against the insurgents who had taken over a military base.

More than 1,000 members of the Islamist group crossed the border into Cameroon over the weekend and launched an attack on the military base in Assighasia and nearby villages.

An unspecified number of soldiers and civilians are said to have been killed while many others were injured.

This prompted the Cameroonian President, Paul Biya, to order the air strike on Sunday, which forced the insurgents to flee the camp in Assighasia, the Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said in a statement.

“After two strikes and heavy fire … the assailants fled the Assighasia camp … losing several fighters,” the minister said. He added that the military operation was on going.

Cameroon has recently stepped up military operations against the Boko Haram insurgents who have increasingly made incursions from safe havens in Nigeria into towns and villages across the border.

Cameroonian media reported last week that the country’s military forces raided a Boko Haram training camp near the Nigerian border where they rescued 84 children who had been brought to be trained as terrorists.




     

     

    The Cameroonian authorities have in recent months deployed thousands of additional troops to towns and villages along the Nigerian border to protect residents from terrorist attacks. But the troops are hardly ever enough to police more than 2,000 kilometres of largely porous border between the two countries.

    With the insurgency ravaging North east of Nigeria gradually spreading to other countries and threatening sub regional peace, the country along with Cameroon, Niger and Chad in May agreed to pool resources, including sharing intelligence and joint border patrols, to fight the insurgents.

    Each country is expected to have contributed 700 soldiers to a sub-regional force but it is not known how far that effort had gone.

    Read Also:

    An estimated 40 Cameroonian soldiers are believed to have been killed in confrontations with the dreaded insurgents this year.

     

    Join the ICIR WhatsApp channel for in-depth reports on the economy, politics and governance, and investigative reports.

    Support the ICIR

    We invite you to support us to continue the work we do.

    Your support will strengthen journalism in Nigeria and help sustain our democracy.

    If you or someone you know has a lead, tip or personal experience about this report, our WhatsApp line is open and confidential for a conversation

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here


    Support the ICIR

    We need your support to produce excellent journalism at all times.

    -Advertisement-

    Recent

    - Advertisement