Five Cameroonian soldiers killed in raid by Boko Haram
Cameroonian President Paul Biya has dispatched Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo to the far north region after Nigerian-based jihadists renewed attacks on the country.
The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that the visit beginning on Wednesday is “aimed at taking stock of operations to protect the inhabitants as well as preservation of the territorial integrity.”
It comes a day after an attack by Boko Haram fighters killed six.
Five soldiers and a civilian were killed in the attack on Monday night, authorities said on Tuesday. This was the second deadliest raid by the group in the area in less than a week.
“Heavily armed terrorists from the Boko Haram sect attacked the command post sub-sector two of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in Zigue in the Far North Region of Cameroon at 9.30pm on Monday," Cameroon's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The statement said, “several assailants were killed and their bodies carted away as the terrorists retreated.”
With headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, the MNJTF is a joint military command of around 10,000 uniform men from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin that has been contributing to restoring a safe and secure environment in the areas of the Lake Chad Basin that are affected by Boko Haram.
The Monday night attack was the second after that of Saturday which occurred in Sagme, North of Zigue. The Cameroon Defence ministry said eight soldiers were killed and 13 others were wounded during the attack which was the first by the group in close a year.
Cameroon military spokesperson, Colonel Cyrille Serge Atonfack said despite the attacks, the troops “remain on high alert in order to prevent possible new assaults by the terrorist hydra Boko Haram which seems to have bounced back in full force following internal restructuring of its ideology.”
The group is said to have undergone restructuring following the death in May this year of its leader, Abubakar Shekau. BY DAILY NATION
Post a Comment