At least 41 militants and one soldier were reportedly killed as the Cameroonian military launched an air raid on suspected Boko Haram fighters who attacked one of its bases on the border near Amchide and seized a huge portion of the town of Ashigashia.
The Voice of America quoted Cameroon military spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck, as saying that about 1,000 suspected Boko Haram fighters had seized parts of the villages of Ngouma, Sagme, Ardebe, Mbaljuel, Dambore, Soueram and Ashigashia and briefly occupied a military camp on Sunday.
Badjeck also said the militants also kidnapped several girls on Friday and forced them to marry the group’s fighters. He said the military was informed by local residents that Boko Haram members had abducted girls between the ages of 12 and 15 and forced them to marry sect members.
Consequently, President Paul Biya of Cameroon ordered the air strike against the sect. This forced the Boko Haram fighters from neighbouring Nigeria to flee the camp at Assighasia, Al Jazeera quoted the Communications Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, as saying in a statement.
Bakary said the multiple attacks showed that Boko Haram had adopted a new strategy aimed at “distracting Cameroonian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks.”
Bakary said at least 34 militants were killed after the army raided one of their bases in Cameroon, while another seven were killed in a separate clash which also claimed the life of a soldier.
Last week, Cameroon said it had dismantled a Boko Haram training camp on its territory, and had rescued 84 children who were being trained there.
More than 40 of its soldiers have been killed in fighting with Boko Haram this year, according to Reuters.
A Boko Haram squad attacked the Assighasia camp on Sunday morning and the “Cameroonian defence forces had to withdraw after trying to defend the position”, the government statement said.
Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment