Latest reports inform that some members of the Islamist militants group Boko Haram kidnapped around 80 people in Cameroon today, January 18, 2015.
According to Reuters, over half of those kidnapped in the cross-border attack were children.
It was disclosed that the kidnappings were the largest in Cameroon since the terrorist group began expanding its operations to adjacent countries, including Chad.
“According to our initial information, around 30 adults, most of them herders, and 50 young girls and boys aged between 10 and 15 years were abducted,” an army officer in Cameroon told Reuters.
Cameroon’s Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary confirmed the attacks saying between 30 and 50 people were taken in the raids.
The minister however added that an exact number of those abducted was difficult to establish as investigations were ongoing.
“They burnt to ashes almost 80 houses,” he said.
A police officer who spoke with the AFP news agency put the figure of hostages at around 60, saying “most were women and children”.
He stated that the suspected militants arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning when it was still dark and left in the direction of Nigeria with scores of hostages.
Meanwhile, a security source told the BBC that four villagers who tried to fend off the Boko Haram insurgents were killed.
It would be recalled that four people were killed earlier on Sunday after a suicide bomber attack at a bus station in Potiskum in Yobe State.
According to police and hospital sources, about 48 others were also injured in the tragic incident that happened moments ago.
“We have evacuated four dead bodies and 48 injured persons from the scene of the suicide blast,” a police officer informed newsmen.
The bomber “blew up his car at a bus station,” said the officer, asking not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Boko Haram has seized control of towns and villages in north-east Nigeria, and begun threatening neighbouring nations.
Chad, which also borders Nigeria, has just sent soldiers to help Cameroon in the fight against the jihadists.
BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’ah in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, says this is the first time Cameroonian villagers have been kidnapped by suspected militants.
Thousands have fled from Nigeria to Cameroon because of militant attacks.
Previous kidnappings in Cameroon blamed on Boko Haram have been more targeted – with high-profile people or foreigners reportedly taken for ransom, he says.
Cameroon has criticised Nigeria for failing to do more to confront Boko Haram.
Members of the Islamist militants group had two weeks ago attacked the multinational military base of Baga in northeast Nigeria, as the group seeks to disrupt the upcoming Presidential elections.
Though the Nigerian government estimated the death toll from the Baga massacre was 150, local reports said the death toll was at least 10 times higher.
Today’s kidnappings appear to be further evidence that Boko Haram is conducting a regional campaign of violence.
Last year, 27 people seized in Cameroon by suspected Boko Haram fighters were held for months before being freed in October.
Scene of Boko Haram attack in northern Nigeria
They included 10 Chinese workers and the wife of Cameroon’s Vice-Prime Minister Amadou Ali.
It is not clear how their release was secured.
Several French hostages have also been kidnapped in Cameroon by Boko Haram and subsequently released.
France and Cameroon denied paying a large ransom for the release of the Moulin-Fournier family in 2013.
On Friday, Ghana’s President John Mahama said African leaders would discuss plans this week to “deal permanently” with Boko Haram militants, and that a multinational force may be considered.
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