schema:articleBody
| - Boko Haram fighters have killed three civilians in Cameroon's far north bordering Nigeria, where the jihadist group has stepped up attacks, local officials said Friday. Three others were injured in the overnight raid in Assighassia, a town which has been the target of multiple attacks, Mahamat Chetima Abba, the traditional chief of the nearby Mozogo commune, said. "The Boko Haram jihadists came from Nigeria and took the victims by surprise," he said. A police source who requested anonymity confirmed his account. Attacks in this border region by members of Boko Haram and a dissident branch, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), have become increasingly frequent in recent months, as they have along Nigeria's borders with Chad and Niger. Civilians, particularly women and children, are frequently abducted. On Saturday the Boko Haram group, led by Abubakar Shekau, massacred 76 farmers in northeastern Nigeria. The bloodbath marked the region's "most violent direct attack against innocent civilians this year", according to the United Nations. The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria before spreading to neighbouring countries. Since then, more than 36,000 people have been killed, mostly in Nigeria, and 3 million have been forced to flee their homes, according to the UN. rek-amt/erc/ach
|