Africa

Suicide attack kills 3 children in northern Cameroon

Military commander says suicide bomber hid explosives in a bag of beans, in region often targeted by Boko Haram attacks

Felix Nkambeh Tih  | 20.11.2017 - Update : 20.11.2017
Suicide attack kills 3 children in northern Cameroon FILE PHOTO

Yaounde

By Peter Kum 

YAOUNDE, Cameroon 

Three children were killed and several others injured in a suicide bomb attack in northern Cameroon, administrative sources told Anadolu Agency on Monday.  

The attack occurred Monday morning in the town of Kolofata, in Cameroon’s Far North Region near the Nigerian border.  

"The suicide bomber hid the explosive device in a bag of beans which he was carrying," said Gen. Bouba Dobekreo, commander of a joint military operation. 

Dobekreo added that the explosion killed four people, including three children and the suicide bomber himself, a man in his forties.  

"Several injured were transported by soldiers to Mora Hospital," said Bakari Midjiyawa, the region’s governor. 

Cameroon’s Far North has been relatively calm for the past two weeks. 

Last month several Boko Haram terrorists surrendered to Cameroonian authorities. 

"The return of these former Boko Haram fighters doesn’t mean the end of the war," warned Alfred Fuller, a retired colonel, and analyst. 

"It could be a strategy for the group to trick the troops and revive major attacks," he added.

Cameroon has been fighting the Nigerian insurgent group since 2014.

Boko Haram attacks have killed nearly 2,500 Cameroonians between 2014 and 2017, according to Cameroon’s Defense Ministry.

The UN refugee agency estimates approximately 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by Boko Haram violence, and more than 2.6 million displaced.






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