Forty suspected Boko Haram militants have been arrested in northern Cameroon, the Voice of America has reported.
During the arrests, soldiers reportedly sealed off a market believed to be a storehouse for arms and ammunition to be used by Boko Haram at the country’s border with Nigeria.
“A gendarme raid on the Maroua Central Market has led to the arrests of over 40 people,” VOA quoted a state radio broadcaster as announcing.
“The arrests are in connection with ongoing investigations into the activities of the Boko Haram group in the far north region of the country.”
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According to the officer who supervised the arrests, Colonel Nyemeck Pierre, the Cameroonian government ordered the military action, as part of its fight against Boko Haram’s activities in the country.
“It is the duty of the military to filter the population so that enemies do not infiltrate into Cameroon,” he said.
“The matter is complicated because along the border, there are Nigerians and Cameroonians who belong to the same families; and soldiers have to try to distinguish who is a militant.”
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The arrest comes 23 days after Cameroonian soldiers killed at least 40 Boko Haram militants operating inside its border with Nigeria.
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