According to Cameroon's defence spokesman, at least 24 of 80 hostages who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in Cameroon have been freed, the country’s defence ministry has said.
The Boko Haram militants kidnapped about 80 people including children on Sunday in a cross-border raid in Mabass village of Northern Cameroon.
The country’s defence spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that the Cameroonian Army was able to free dozens of hostages taken on Sunday by Boko Haram.
“The Cameroonian Army was able to free about 24 hostages taken yesterday by Boko Haram in the far North. They were freed as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria,” Col. Didier said.
Officials said several people who tried to stop the militants were killed and about 80 homes were razed to the ground.
Also reacting on the incident, Cameroon’s information minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary called the kidnappers barbaric and lawless, adding that nothing can stop them from killing.
The kidnappings came a day after Chad sent thousands of troops into Cameroon to help fight Boko Haram, the militant group that African officials said is quickly becoming a threat to the entire region.
Boko Haram has been seizing territory along the border between Nigeria and Chad. It recently took control of a military base near the shores of Lake Chad, killing a number of villagers.
Brutal raids, massacres, suicide bomb attacks and kidnappings by the Islamist group have claimed at least 13,000 lives and driven an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes, mainly in its stronghold in northeast Nigeria.
The Boko Haram militants kidnapped about 80 people including children on Sunday in a cross-border raid in Mabass village of Northern Cameroon.
The country’s defence spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that the Cameroonian Army was able to free dozens of hostages taken on Sunday by Boko Haram.
“The Cameroonian Army was able to free about 24 hostages taken yesterday by Boko Haram in the far North. They were freed as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria,” Col. Didier said.
Officials said several people who tried to stop the militants were killed and about 80 homes were razed to the ground.
Also reacting on the incident, Cameroon’s information minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary called the kidnappers barbaric and lawless, adding that nothing can stop them from killing.
The kidnappings came a day after Chad sent thousands of troops into Cameroon to help fight Boko Haram, the militant group that African officials said is quickly becoming a threat to the entire region.
Boko Haram has been seizing territory along the border between Nigeria and Chad. It recently took control of a military base near the shores of Lake Chad, killing a number of villagers.
Brutal raids, massacres, suicide bomb attacks and kidnappings by the Islamist group have claimed at least 13,000 lives and driven an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes, mainly in its stronghold in northeast Nigeria.
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