French Cameroun: Three people killed, one abducted in Boko Haram attack ⁰

At least three people were killed and another abducted in a Boko Haram militant raid on the mainly Christian village of Gabass, Koza department, Far North Cameroon.

The heavily-armed militants struck the community as the villagers slept, in the early hours of 26 November.

Guidi village in Kolofata, Far North Cameroon, one of two villages attacked by Boko Haram in the early hours of 26 November

At the time of writing, security forces are conducting a search for the abducted villager and the perpetrators.

In a separate attack the same night on Guidi village in Kolofata, also in the Far North, Boko Haram militants set fire to five homes.

In October, authorities in Far North Cameroon had to close more than 60 schools along the northern border with Nigeria to protect children and teaching staff from repeated Boko Haram attacks, mainly by women and children used as suicide bombers.

Most of Cameroon’s Muslims, comprising around 20% of the population, live in the Far North region of this predominantly Christian country. In the Far North, rural Christian communities are frequently subjected to Boko Haram violence. Eyewitness accounts of attacks describe heavily armed militants encircling Christian villages, shouting throughout the night as they kill, loot and burn. Boko Haram has stated its aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate extending from its base in north-east Nigeria.

By Ewang Miriam Metchane