The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Cameroon

  • Boko Haram suicide mission: Military traces explosives’ source to Chinese factory in Cameroon

    Boko Haram suicide mission: Military traces explosives’ source to Chinese factory in Cameroon

    …May launch full-scale war against Boko Haram before December

    The military has traced some of the explosives being used by Boko Haram female suicide bombers to a Chinese factory which was seized some weeks ago by the sect.

    Also, preliminary findings revealed that some of the teenage bombers were not aware that they were on suicide mission.

    It was learnt that most of the girls were lured on errands without knowing the import of their mission.

    But there were feelers last night that the Federal Government may direct the military to wage a full-scale battle against the sect in Sambisa Forest before the December deadline given by the National Council of State.

    According to a military source, who spoke in confidence, the military and other security agencies have started probing the increase in suicide bombings by Boko Haram and sources of the Improvised Explosive Devices which were mostly remote controlled.

    The source claimed that one of the clues stumbled upon by the military traced the explosives to a Chinese plant which was attacked by Boko Haram in May.

    The sect had attacked a quarry plant of a Chinese road construction firm in Northern Cameroon near Waza town, which is about 20 kilometres to Sambisa Forest.

    Apart from abducting 10 Chinese workers, many blasting materials were carted away by the insurgents.

    The military source said: “”The military and security agencies have started probing how the insurgents came about the massive IEDs being deployed to attack various institutions and locations.

    “We have done analysis of some samples of the fragments of the IEDs used to attack some of these places.

    The initial part of the investigation showed that some of the explosives forcibly evacuated from the Chinese plant in May were being used for the ongoing suicide mission.

    “The second leg of the ongoing probe borders on the need to find out whether some of the IEDs also came from some of the allies of the sect in other countries like the Taliban, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and others.

    “But certainly investigation is in progress in order to nip the spate of suicide bombings in the bud.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “Findings also confirmed that some of the female suicide bombers were innocently conscripted to run errands they were not aware of.

    “Once the girls were sent on errands, the sect members used to stay somewhere to use remote control to detonate the IEDs.

    “This development does not rule out the possibility of the training of some of the female bombers for the missions.

    “We are studying all bends to the new tricks of bombing before it assumes a large scale dimension.

    On the December deadline given by the National Council of State to end the insurgency in the North, the source added: “We are working to address the security challenges before the timeline.

    “The deadline presupposes that we will wage a full-scale battle against the insurgents without minding the collateral damage.

    “Once the presidency gives the directive, the military will have no option than to launch an outright war against the insurgents in Sambisa Forest or wherever is their base.

    “I think we have reached a stage to either address the insurgency or allow the situation to degenerate.”

  • Two Cameroon soldiers killed in cross-border Boko Haram attack

    Two Cameroon soldiers killed in cross-border Boko Haram attack

    Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members killed  two  Cameroonian soldiers in a cross-border raid overnight, a Cameroonian security official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.

    The attack occurred late Thursday in the border village of Balgaram in northern Cameroon. Eight soldiers on duty  fought back, and “in the clash we lost two men,” the official said.

    Military reinforcements were sent to the area and several troops “entered Nigerian territory with the aim of finding the assailants,” the official said.

    Boko Haram  has been blamed for several clashes, abductions and killings targeting troops in northern Cameroon deployed to counter them.

    More than 3,000 Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram attacks have taken refuge in the Cameroonian town of Fotokol, a municipal official said.

    “We are worried about infiltrations by the Islamists among the refugees, “ a police officer in the town said.

  • Nigeria, Cameroon, others to battle Boko Haram with 2,800 troops

    Nigeria, Cameroon, others to battle Boko Haram with 2,800 troops

    Nigeria and three other countries have pledged to speed up the creation of a 2,800-strong regional force to tackle Boko Haram.

    Defence ministers of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger said they would each contribute 700 troops to the force.

    Niger’s Defence Minister Karidio Mahamadou said they were determined to “eradicate this curse”.

    Boko Haram’s insurgency is focused on Nigeria, but it has carried out some cross-border raids.

    It was suspected of blowing up the Ngala bridge, which lies on a key transport link between north-eastern Nigeria and Cameroon, on Wednesday.

    Cars and lorries loaded with goods are stranded on the highway, residents told the BBC.

    The regional defence ministers met in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Wednesday, to hold further discussions on the growing threat posed by Boko Haram.

    In May, the four countries, whose borders meet at Lake Chad, agreed to share intelligence and coordinate border security.

    Efforts to step up regional co-operation gained momentum after Boko Haram caused an international outcry by abducting more than 200 girls from a boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria.

    The girls are said to be held in the vast Sambisa forest, along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.

    Boko Haram has carried out a spate of abductions in Cameroon – including that of tourists and priests.

    Unconfirmed reports say the group has also recruited fighters from Chad and Niger.

    On Wednesday, at least 40 people were killed when two bombs exploded in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna.

    Boko Haram has not commented, but it is suspected to have carried out the attacks.

    It launched an insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

  • Cameroon kills two Boko Haram men

    Cameroon kills two Boko Haram men

    Two suspected Boko Haram militants have been killed in a botched attack on a town in Cameroon’s far north.

    They were killed by local security forces, who repelled the Boko Haram attack on Saturday.

    Nigeria had accused Cameroon of not doing enough to tackle Boko Haram, which grabbed global attention in April following the abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno State. The sect has also killed hundreds in the northeast since then.

    Cameroon recently deployed 1 000 troops to far north and the attack in the Mayo Tsanaga Division in the Far North Region is the latest in a series of clashes between its security forces and Boko Haram.

    The Cameroon government’s spokesperson, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said a raid was carried out early on Saturday morning by 50 well-armed gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram.

    “Our defence and security forces fought back immediately. [They] killed two of the assailants, seized one of their vehicles and a Kalashnikov war weapon, forcing them to run back crossing the border into the Nigerian territory,” he said.

    He did not say if any government troops were killed or wounded in the fighting.

    Nigeria’s head of counter-terrorism said last month that Cameroon was the weakest link in the regional fight against the group.

    Cameroon security forces killed 40 militants in fighting a week ago, shortly after reinforcements were sent to the far north.

  • Girls: Cameroon, Chad to block Boko Haram routes

    Girls: Cameroon, Chad to block Boko Haram routes

    •Negotiation still possible, says govt

    To facilitate the rescue of the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls, Cameroon and Chad may have agreed to block routes in their territories used by Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.

    Some of the routes, top security sources told The Nation, have been identified.

    If the routes are blocked, the sect will be confined to its camps in Nigeria.

    A military source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent last night, said all those involved in the planned rescue of the girls have been holding strategy meetings.

    The source said: “The pre-rescue plans have reached advanced stage and very soon, we expect tangible results.

    “Cameroon and Chad troops have identified some camps and movement routes of Boko Haram. They want to block these routes in order to restrict the sect operations to Nigeria.

    “With the blockade, Nigerian troops with neighboring countries’ forces and the foreign counterparts can move in to rescue the girls wherever they are located.

    “We have located where the girls are but the priority now is to see the best way to get these girls out without casualties.

    “We are strategising on how to ensure a successful rescue operation.”

    The Federal Government also spoke  on ongoing efforts to get back the girls, saying it has not foreclosed negotiation with Boko Haram.

    Coordinator of the National Information Centre Mike Omeri told reports in Abuja that all options, including negotiation, were on the cards on rescuing the girls.

    Giving an update on security operations in the Northeast, where Boko Haram is on the rampage, Omeri said.

    He did not state the negotiation steps taken by the government.

    Last Sunday the London’s Mail on Sunday reported that an Australian, Dr. Stephen Davis, as been hired by the government to negotiate with Boko Haram on the girls’ release.

    The negotiator, who is a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who visited President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja yesterday, told the newspaper that the girls were being kept in Chad, Cameron and Niger.

    He advised against urging force to rescue the girls to prevent them from coming to harm.

    “The Federal Government is totally committed and focused towards ensuring that our beloved children, kidnapped girls, are returned safe and sound.

    “Therefore, as we said before, all options in line with international best practices are open in this case,’’ Omeri said.

    Omeri said the Federal Government had begun the distribution of relief materials to communities affected by the insurgency in the Northeast and Jos, the Plateau State, while scores died in an explosion about two weeks ago, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    According to him, efforts are ongoing to reach victims also affected by the insurgency in other states.

    Omeri called for help from the public, individuals and corporate organisations, for the victims.

    Also yesterday, a coordinator of BringBackOurGirls campaign, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday said the campaigners were never busy bodies.

    She said no smear campaign would deter  the protesters.

    Ezekwesili said: “Our character and not reputation is what we were brought up to cherish and build. Nothing the authors of falsehood do touches one’s character.

    “The Federal Government’s  failure so far to rescue our Chibok girls is the consequence of the systemic indifference that followed the news of their abduction.

    “Until the Federal Government owns up to the truth of their nearly  three weeks of neglect of our  Chibok girls, it makes it harder for citizens to believe their efforts.

    “Experts say that proactive steps taken within the first 24 hours of abduction increase the probability of rescue. After five days, it is harder.

    “For the sake of the Chibok girls, one pleads that embracing the truth, no matter how hard it is, will help the Federal Government to BringBackOurGirls.

    On the allegation that the campaigners had been crying more than the bereaved, the former Vice President of the World Bank said those saying so were ignorant.

    She added: “Some say we cry more than the bereaved. Well, what do they know? If only they have seen or heard as I have some of the mums and dads of the girls.

    “So, those of you that have voice, never cease to use it for the Chibok girls. They need you and I keep demanding BringBackOurGirls.”

  • 10 Chinese kidnapped in Cameroon likely in Nigeria

    The 10 Chinese workers abducted by Boko Haram gunmen in Cameroon have most likely been taken back across the border to the Nigerian Islamist group’s strongholds, a police official said on Sunday.

    “We are almost certain that the 10 Chinese have been kidnapped and transferred to Nigeria. We have no fresh news about them,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

    “The search continues (in Cameroon) but apart from small pieces of information I can’t see what could come out of it since the attackers have left the country,” he said.

    He added that the all the helicopters that might have been used to survey the border area and help with the search were in the capital Yaounde ahead of the 20 May National Day military parade.

    The celebrations were also the reason the unit of elite Cameroonian troops that usually guards the group of Chinese workers attacked late Friday was not up to its usual strength.

    According to the local officials, a large group of heavily armed Boko Haram fighters in five vehicles stormed the Chinese encampment and engaged the Cameroonian soldiers.

    The brazen attack came as the president of Nigeria and counterparts from neighbouring states met in Paris to “declare war” on Boko Haram.

     

  • Nigeria’s neighbours have roles to play – UK Secretary

    Nigeria’s neighbours have roles to play – UK Secretary

    Nigeria’s neighbours, such as Chad and Cameroon, have “very important role” to play in the battle against the Islamist group, Boko Haram in Africa, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, has said.

    His comments came as talks on the threat from Boko Haram – hosted by the French president – got underway yesterday in Paris.

    Militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State in April and released a video last Monday showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.

  • Military opens links with Cameroon, Chad

    Military opens links with Cameroon, Chad

    NIGERIA is seeking the co-operation of Cameroon and Chad to find the 234 girls abducted from their hostel in Chibok, Borno State.

    The Defence Headquarters has opened contact with military authorities in the two countries, The Nation learnt last night.

    Either the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, or the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, will visit Cameroon and Chad this week as part of efforts to rescue the girls, who were kidnapped by suspected Boko Garam gunmen.

    The Military Intelligence is probing the alleged movement of the girls to the two Francophone countries – as alleged by the Chibok Elders Forum. But the elders, a source said, are yet to provide “concrete” evidence to the military on how the girls were relocated to Cameroon and Chad.

    A source said: “This DHQ’s collaboration with Cameroon and Chad will enable the nation to determine whether the girls have been relocated to the two nations or they are still being kept in Nigeria by Boko Haram.

    “We need to get a status report to assist our operations. If the girls are indeed in the two countries, we will seek their assistance to rescue them.

    “But if the girls are still held hostage in our territory, we will intensify our operations to rescue them.

    “This outreach is normal and it will involve intelligence sharing since we are all neighbours. We have had cause to collaborate in the past.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “It has become compelling to open contact with these two countries because the Chibok Elders Forum has not provided concrete evidence to confirm its claim that the girls have been taken ‘abroad’.

    “For them to make such a claim means that they had links with either the abductors or sources who witnessed the movement of the girls.

    “Yet, they have not been able to provide clues which could guide the military.”

    The Director of Defence Information, Gen. Chris Olukolade, who spoke with our correspondent last night, said: “We are still making efforts to locate and rescue the school girls.

    “Even though we have been getting misleading information on the whereabouts of the girls, we have paid attention to every clue made available to us.

    “The troops are working round the clock to get positive results.”

  • Military locates 12 Boko Haram hideouts in Cameroon

    Military locates 12 Boko Haram hideouts in Cameroon

    The Nigerian armed forces have located about a dozen hideouts of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in neighbouring Cameroon.

    Consequently, the Federal Government is mounting pressure on the neighbouring country for collaboration in routing the insurgents.

    President Goodluck Jonathan and President Paul Biya are already in talks on how to deal with the security challenge, authoritative sources said yesterday in Abuja.

    Nigeria is said to have tabled four conditions before Cameroon for its consideration on the issue.

    A military source said that many Boko Haram leaders and field commanders have relocated to Cameroon from where they direct operations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, the latest being Sunday’s massacre of about 50 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State and Wednesday’s attack in Madagali and Michika Local Government areas of Adamawa State.

    The source said: “We have been able to establish that Boko Haram now operates fully from Cameroon where they have more than a dozen of deadly bases. Most of their wanted leaders live in havens in the Francophone country.

    “The sad aspect is that they have been operating with impunity in Cameroon. We do not know why they enjoy such latitude.

    “We have done reconnaissance which confirmed that the sect has been coming in and out of Cameroon to wreak havoc on innocent villages and communities in Nigeria.”

    The Federal Government, the source said, has been liaising with the Cameroonian government although it is yet to get a decisive response.

    Nigeria’s demands are:

    • Allowing Nigerian troops to enter Cameroon for limited engagement against fleeing Boko Haram members

    • Permitting troops to take the battle to the sect in their bases in Cameroon, especially in border areas

    • Temporary closure and freezing of movement at Nigeria/ Cameroon borders

    • Stoppage of harbouring or hosting of Boko Haram leaders under whatever guise.

    The source added: “The Federal Government has been mounting pressure on Cameroon to collaborate with Nigeria to curtail the insurgents.

    “In the 80s, when there was a similar insurgency by the Maitatsine sect, Nigerian troops trailed them to their based in Chad.

    “The understanding is necessary because it is obvious that the sect is not ready for any constructive dialogue again and their recalcitrance is threatening our sovereignty.

    “I think we have had enough from these insurgents who are taking us for granted. The battle line is certainly drawn.”

    President Biya is said to be receptive to the idea of co-operating with Nigeria but the source declined to go into details.

    He only said: ”Where Cameroon decides to accommodate the insurgents against our security interest, we know what to do as a nation.”

    President Francois Hollande of France said on Thursday in Abuja that his country stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram.

    He pledged his support in the fight against Islamist militancy as it had done in Mali. Hollande, guest of honour for celebrations to mark 100 years since Nigeria’s unification, expressed his condolences, calling the Yobe attack “brutal” and “unjustified”.

    “Nigeria is today confronted with the terrorism of Boko Haram,” he told delegates at a security conference attended by dozens of African heads of state and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

    “I assure you that your struggle is also our struggle. We will always stand ready not only to provide our political support but our help every time you need it, because the struggle against terrorism is also the struggle for democracy.”

    Hollande was on a two-day visit to Nigeria and had been expected to hold talks on trade and investment with President Goodluck Jonathan.

  • Army closes border with Cameroun

    Army closes border with Cameroun

    The military said yesterday it had shut hundreds of kilometres of Nigeria’s border in Adamawa State with Cameroon to stop Islamic extremists using the country as a haven and launch pad for attacks.

    Brig. Gen. Rogers Nicholas of the 23rd Armored Brigade told reporters that he was exercising emergency powers because it is “imperative” to seal the border between Cameroon and Adamawa State against illegal crossings.

    He said Customs and immigration officials are working with soldiers and police “to ensure that nothing crosses into Nigeria.” Large stretches of that porous border are generally left unpatrolled.

    The border between Borno State and Cameroon, which Nigerian troops and a jet bomber crossed last month in pursuit of extremists, apparently remains open.

    The move will affect hundreds of traders who routinely cross the border.