1, January 2018

Far North region: Female suicide bomber kills one, wounds 28 0

A female suicide bomber blew herself up in a cafe in Cameroon’s far north region Sunday, killing at least one person and wounding 28 others, witnesses told AFP.

Witnesses said the woman entered the cafe at around 7:00 am (0600 GMT) before detonating her explosive vest in Bia, a village close to the border with Nigeria. The area has seen frequent attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group in recent years. Those hurt in the blast were taken to a nearby hospital, witnesses said.

Since 2014, when Cameroon began its fight against Boko Haram, the group has killed at least 2,000 civilians and military personnel and kidnapped a thousand more in the country’s far north, according to the International Crisis Group.

Since the group emerged eight years ago, it has launched attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad — the nations bordering Lake Chad — and caused the deaths of at least 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.6 million.