Boko Haram attacks Cameroon, 7 killed

— Nigerian forces set for showdown with Cameroon

Few months after threatening an attack on Cameroon over fears of cooperation with Nigeria, the Boko Haram sect has launched an attack on Cameroon, leading to the death of seven people.

According to the AFP, when Boko Haram militants launched an assault in northern Cameroon, a Cameroonian security source said:”Boko Haram killed a (Cameroonian) soldier. Our soldiers killed six of their guys” and “captured” two others near the Nigerian border.

A local Cameroonian NGO confirmed the assault and said there were “victims”, without specifying the number.
“On Sunday, Boko Haram Islamists entered Cameroon… there was a clash between them and the soldiers,” Mey Aly, from rights group Os-Civil Droits de l’Homme, told AFP.

“Around 30 heavily armed Boko Haram soldiers crept discreetly into Cameroon. A villager saw them and raised the alarm,” she added.
Soldiers blocked their path and a firefight broke out. Cameroon’s rapid reaction force sped to the area.
“The region’s populations have been terrorised by incursions from Islamists like Sunday’s. We call on stronger efforts from the authorities to reassure the population,” she added.

Earlier Monday, an official said that suspected insurgents had killed 29 people in Nigeria’s embattled northeast on Sunday, the latest carnage in a surge of violence that has left more than 100 dead this month alone.
The Nigerian military has launched a major offensive aimed at crushing the Islamist uprising, which has killed thousands since 2009.
On Wednesday, Information Minister Labaran Maku said that much of his country’s problem with Boko Haram stemmed from its border with Cameroon and called for “increased partnership” from its northern neighbour.

Nigeria has alleged that the insurgents have set up bases in sparsely populated areas of its northeastern neighbours, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and flee across the border after staging attacks to avoid military pursuit.
Meanwhile, Nigerian military is losing patience with Cameroon over the Boko Haram insurgency, online news medium, Star Africa, also reported.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, it said, Nigerian military sources said angry soldiers would go after insurgents across the borders, if Cameroon fails to respond positively to Abuja’s request for cooperation.
According to the reports, they said repeated calls to Cameroon to deal with sect members setting up bases inside that country have been rebuffed by the authorities in Yaounde, prompting the military to consider other options which include temporarily freezing all movements at their common border.

It said: “In word which insinuated at Cameroon allegedly harbouring leaders of the sect, the Nigerian military sources said unless their neighbours to the east took the threat to both countries seriously, Nigeria would consider taking unilateral actions appropriate with securing its people.

“This development comes days after President Paul Biya of Cameroon promised to help deal with the security challenges along the two countries’ common border.

“Visiting French President, Francois Hollande, has offered to assist Nigeria deal with Boko Haram.”
Hollande, it would be recalled, was on a two-day visit to Nigeria and was reported to have said last Thursday that France would support Abuja’s fight against the insurgents.

Over the past few weeks, Boko Haram insurgents have stepped up their campaign of violence in northeastern Nigeria, the latest being an attack in Borno state in which 50 people were killed in two explosions.