Boko Haram massacres dozens in Cameroon

Abuja, Feb. 5, (dpa/GNA) - Islamist militant group Boko Haram killed dozens of people in a village Wednesday in Cameroon near the Nigerian border, Cameroonian defence authorities said.

Cameroonian defence spokesman Dieder Badjectk said a death toll was not known, but dozens were "slaughtered in the mosques, on the streets and in their homes" in the village of Fotokol.

The attack comes immediately after Chadian forces killed more than 200 Boko Haram members when the group attacked a military base in Cameroon and were pursued into north-eastern Nigeria, Chad's military chief of staff said.

Nine Chadian soldiers were killed and 21 injured when the insurgents attacked the base of the Multinational Joint Taskforce - a coalition Chad, Niger and Nigeria formed to fight Boko Haram - along Nigeria's border with Cameroon.

The Chadian soldiers pursued the militants into Nigeria to their bases in the towns of Gamboru and Ngala in Borno State, the Chadian general said in a statement published on the Chadian news website al-Wihda.

Soldiers destroyed a dozen Boko Haram vehicles loaded with heavy weapons and about 100 motorbikes, and seized a canon, according to the statement.

"Gamboru has been liberated, and that came with a serious cost to [Boko Haram]," a source with the Nigerian Defence Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The multinational troops are working in tandem to rout out these elements."

About 2,000 Chadian soldiers were stationed along the border this week after the African Union agreed on January 31 to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram.

The fighting comes with Nigeria scheduled to hold presidential and legislative elections on February 14.

Nigerian and Chadian war planes have been bombing Boko Haram hideouts since Monday.

Nigerian defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said Tuesday that Nigeria's sovereignty was not compromised by the presence of Chadian troops, because all units were working in cooperation.

Boko Haram has killed more than 13,000 people since 2009 in northern Nigeria under the pretext of trying to establish an Islamist state.

In recent months, the group increased attacks on bordering countries, including Cameroon and Chad. Chad has moved several thousand troops to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram.

The insurgents control about 130 villages and towns in northern Nigeria, a territory the size of Belgium, and have sparked fears of regional instability.

GNA