Cameroonian soldiers ‘kill’ 27 Boko Haram men

A day after the Nigerian military said 480 Nigerian soldiers had returned from neighbouring Cameroon, the Cameroonian Army says its men have killed 27 members of Boko Haram.

According to Reuters, state-owned Radio CRTV announced the killings, saying they occurred during a clash with the insurgents earlier in the week.

AFP had reported that Cameroon troops engaged Boko Haram in a battle at Gamboru Ngala, a neighbouring community between Nigerian and Cameroon. But the radio station reported that while 11 insurgents were brought down on Monday, 16 were killed on Tuesday.

“Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 Boko Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far-north,” the station was quoted as saying.

It revealed that Cameroonian soldiers seized heavy weapons and destroyed one of the vehicles of the insurgents, while President Paul Biya ordered that Nigerian soldiers to be escorted out of his country after the attack.

“The head of state instructed that the columns of Nigerian soldiers who entered Cameroonian territory should be camped in specific locations and supervised by the Cameroonian army,” it added.

Though the BBC reported that the soldiers fled to Cameroon after being overpowered by the sect, the Nigerian Army insisted that its men only crossed to the neighbouring country for “tactical manoeuvring”.

Boko Haram has been engaging security operatives of both countries in deadly battles.

In July, the sect kidnapped the wife of Cameroon’s vice prime minister but the soldiers quickly embarked on an operation that led to her release.

Different communities, particularly in the northeastern Nigeria, suffer periodic Boko Haram attacks.