The Defence Ministry on Thursday said Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram killed 31 people when it burnt three mosques in northern Cameroon.
Defence Minister, Edgar Ngo’o, said this in Yaounde.
Ngo’o said: “The attack took place in Fotokol, a town in the country’s Far North region bordering Nigeria.
“The insurgents on Wednesday killed 82 civilians there, as well as six Cameroonian and 13 Chadian soldiers.
“The figure will definitely rise given the rather large number of wounded people, some of them critically.”
Report says Boko Haram descended on Fotokol to revenge the deaths of no fewer than 200 of their members killed by Chadian and Nigerian troops this week.
It added that Nigerian and Chadian aircraft have been bombing Boko Haram hideouts since Monday.
Over 2,000 Chadian soldiers were stationed along Nigeria-Cameroon this week after the African Union agreed on January 31 to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram.
Boko Haram has killed over 13,000 people since 2009 in northern Nigeria under the pretext of trying to establish an Islamist state.
In recent months, the group increased attacks on bordering countries, including Cameroon and Chad.
Chad has moved several thousand troops to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram.
The insurgents control about 130 villages and towns in northern Nigeria, a territory the size of Belgium, and have sparked fears of regional instability.
dpa/NAN.
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