Skip to main content

Boko Haram unrest: Cameroon air strikes on Nigerian militants

Image
By
  
                                                                Cameroon has been strengthening its troop presence along the border with Nigeria
Cameroon has carried out its first air strikes against militant Islamist group Boko Haram, after it overran a military base and attacked five villages, officials have said.

The military repelled the coordinated attacks and regained control of the base, they added.

At least 41 militants and one soldier were killed, the officials said.

The Nigeria-based group is increasingly carrying out cross-border raids, threatening Cameroon's security.

The latest fighting was the most intense, lasting for three days along several fronts, reports the BBC's Jean-David Mihamle from Cameroon's capital Yaounde.
'New escalation'
About 1,000 militants attacked five villages, including Amchide, and seized the nearby Achigachia military base, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck told Reuters news agency.

"After that, the head of state ordered the air force to carry out strikes. With the bombardment, the fighters were forced to decamp from Achigachia," he said. 


In a statement, Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma 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".

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, Mr Bakary said, Reuters reports.

The air strikes marked "a new escalation in the Cameroonian response... to multiple enemy attacks", he added, AFP news agency reports.

Last week, Cameroon said it had dismantled a Boko Haram training camp on its territory, and had seized 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.

Boko Haram launched its insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria in 2009, saying it wanted to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

It recruits mainly unemployed youth and has seized large swathes of territory in Borno state, raising fears that it could launch an assault on its main city, Maiduguri.

At least 2,000 civilians have been killed by the group in Nigeria this year.

The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in April from the town of Chibok in Borno state sparked international outrage.

Comments

  1. samuel udoso29 December 2014 at 06:43

    get the latest poat of what we should be worried about

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CUTE PHOTOS: Tiwa Savage Pumps Fuel For Motorists

By
  Popular 34-year-old Nigerian singer, Tiwatope Savage-Balogun, known by her stage name, Tiwa Savage, has been recorded to be the hottest fuel pump attendant ever.   The beautiful songstress, who was recently rumored to have had marital issues with her husband, Teebillz Olatunji Balogun has taken to her Instagram page to show how she’s celebrating the ongoing customer week. The superstar who earlier this year was announced as the brand ambassador for Forte Oil Petroleum Company has showcased the types of treatment real customers should get not only this week which is the customer week but in the coming days.  The singer whose face and much more, obviously is geared as a selling point by the oil company, was spotted acting as a pump attendant for the brand’s customer service week . She  shared pictures of her service on her Instagram page not long ago with this tag below: “ Good morning #MyDarlings I’ve been up bright and early today working as ...
Post a Comment
Read more

APC Lawmakers In Kaduna Endorse Buhari For 2015 Presidential Election

By
The All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the Kaduna State House of Assembly have endorsed the former Head of State and chieftain of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari, as their preferred candidate for the 2015 presidential election. Addressing a press conference to make their position known at the state House  of Assembly complex on Tuesday, the 12 APC lawmakers said Nigeria required a visionary leader like General Buhari to save the country from its present state of ineptitude and total failure. The Minority Leader of Kaduna State House of Assembly, Muhammed Ali, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said General Buhari had demonstrated purposeful leadership qualities in all the positions he had held in time past. He expressed optimism that his candidature for the party would certainly make the country proud. Earlier, of Assembly complex on Tuesday, the 12 APC lawmakers said Nigeria required a visionary leader like General Buhari to save the country from its pre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ebola: Kwara State Trains 2,300 teachers

By
The Kwara Government on Monday commenced a two-day training on Ebola preventive measures for some 2, 300 teachers across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state. Alhaji Lamidi Alabi , Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, stated this during a visit to some of the designated training centres. He said that teachers across the 17 centres were going through intensive training on Ebola preventive measures in schools. Alabi said that health teachers of primary schools and principals of junior and senior secondary schools were also being trained on the use of infra-red thermometers. According to him, Ebola Virus Disease preventive tools such as hand sanitisers, bowls, towels and customised polythene bags have already been distributed to the schools. He reiterated the resolve of the government toward the Oct. 15 resumption date for schools in the state. Alabi charged teachers and students to be committed to their academic wo...
Post a Comment
Read more