The wife of Cameroon’s
vice prime minister was kidnapped and three persons killed in an attack
by Boko Haram militants in the northern town of Kolofata on Sunday,
Cameroon officials have said.
A local religious leader, or lamido,
named Seini Boukar Lamine, who is also the town’s mayor, was kidnapped
as well, in a separate attack on his home.
Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist militant group, has stepped up
cross-border attacks into Cameroon in recent weeks as Cameroon has
deployed troops to the region, joining international efforts to combat
the militants.
“I can confirm that the home of Vice Prime Minister
Amadou Ali in Kolofata came under a savage attack from Boko Haram
militants,” Issa Tchiroma told Reuters by telephone.
“They
unfortunately took away his wife. They also attacked the lamido’s
residence and he was also kidnapped,” he said, and at least three people
were killed in the attack.
A Cameroon military commander in the
region told Reuters that the vice prime minister, who was at home to
celebrate the Muslim feast of Ramadan with his family, was taken to a
neighbouring town by security officials.
“The situation is very
critical here now, and as I am talking to you the Boko Haram elements
are still in Kolofata town in a clash with our soldiers,” said Colonel
Felix Nji Formekong, the second commander of Cameroon’s third inter-army
military region, based in the regional headquarters Maroua.
The
Sunday attack is the third Boko Haram attack into Cameroon since Friday.
At least four soldiers were killed in the previous attacks.
Meanwhile, some 22 suspected Boko Haram militants, who have been held in
Maroua since March, were on Friday sentenced to prison sentences
ranging from 10 to 20 years.
It was unclear whether the events are related.
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