Boko Haram have launched an attack on a military
base in the northwest Cameroonian city of
Kolofata, police and government officials say.
Monday's attack came a day after blasts
struck an open market selling mobile handsets
in the town of Potiskum in Nigeria's Yobe
state, one of three northeastern states
repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram.
"As soon as people heard the first gunfire,
they fled the city," a police source told the
AFP news agency on Monday, adding: "The
gunfire was very heavy."
Issa Tchiroma, Cameroon's communication
minister and government spokesperson, told
Al Jazeera that between 200 and 300 Boko
Haram fighters had been killed in the attack.
He also said Cameroonian soldiers had seized
heavy military equipment and vehicles from
Boko Haram, apparently during a recent attack
by the group on Nigeria's northeastern town
of Baga.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the
ministers' claims.
Citing military sources, Eugene Nforngwa,
a local journalist, told Al Jazeera by email
that one Cameroonian soldier of the Rapid
Response Battalion (BIR in French) was killed
and another wounded in Monday's clashes.
"Kolofata does not share a boundary with
Cameroon, which means the militants
travelled at least 10km into Cameroon," he
said.
"Cameroonian military spokesperson Colonel
Didier Badjec confirmed the attack and said
he was preparing a press release, which will
be published later today."
Sources said Kolofata is on a hill, which gave
Cameroonian troops strategic advantage over
Boko Haram fighters.
Boko Haram, which has been designated by
the US as a "terrorist" organisation, has been
fighting since 2009 to establish sharia law in
all 36 states of Nigeria, which is roughly
equally divided between a mainly Christian
south and a largely Muslim north.
The Nigerian government has since May 2013
declared a state of emergency in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe, the three states where most
of the deadly attacks have happened.
Source: Al Jazeera.
No comments: