Ten children who were kidnapped in restive northern Cameroon last week have been freed in a rescue operation, but one captive died, according to the regional governor.
The Cameroon authorities had made no comment since the children were seized while travelling on a bus from Kousseri to Maroua and taken across the border to Nigeria.
But Far North province governor Midjiyawa Bakari said in a social media video yesterday that 10 youngsters had now been rescued by soldiers from the Cameroonian army and an anti-jihadist taskforce including soldiers from neighbouring Nigeria and Chad.
“Unfortunately, one of them lost their life,” he added, without giving details.
In all, around 15 people were taken captive, Bakari said, without giving more information on those released.
Some 50 people have been arrested, he went on. The governor did not comment on how the kidnapping took place or whether those responsible belonged to the jihadist group Boko Haram, as reported in Cameroonian media.
Boko Haram has been waging an Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009, which has spilt over into neighbouring countries, including northern Cameroon.
The group has used kidnapping as part of its effort to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region, most notably abducting nearly 300 girls from their school in the Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014.
The Cameroon kidnapping prompted consternation and public accusations of inaction levelled at the government.
Families of those taken condemned the government’s lack of communication, while a fundraiser was launched to try to secure the hostages’ release.
The Far North governor said security forces had been mobilised “for a week” to “comb the ground” and force the “outlaws” to release their captives.
As well as kidnapping, civilians in the region run the risk of attacks from Boko Haram and its rival, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group.
Some 246 attacks were reported in 2023, which killed at least 169 civilians.
