Nigeria: Cameroon troops kill 70 Boko Haram terrorists

Lagos - Cameroon has announced that its troops killed no fewer than 70 Boko Haram terrorists who were allegedly chased into a village near Gwoza in Nigeria's north east Borno State last weekend. Fleeing villagers from the area, however, claimed that the people killed were innocent farmers, who had nothing to do with terrorist activities.It was gathered that Cameroon troops entered Kirawa-Jimni village Sunday night and asked the villagers where the Boko Haram terrorists the soldiers had been chasing were hiding but the Cameroonians started shooting randomly when their questions did not receive any answer. One of the villagers, who fled from the area, Muhammed Abba, said, "We did not know what was going on but the Cameroonian troops suddenly appeared and began to ask us for Boko Haram terrorists. Before we could say a word, they started firing. That scared most of us and we began to run for our lives."Abba, who is a deputy commander of the local vigilante group fighting Boko Haram in Gwoza, said when people returned Monday, they found 70 corpses within a wide area on the ground.Borno state spokesman for a civilian self-defence group, Abbas Gava, confirmed the reports, saying he received calls from residents of Ashigashiya village near the border with Cameroon."They said the soldiers were in hot pursuit of some Boko Haram terrorists who ran into Kirawa-Jimni village," he said. Cameroon's military spokesman, Colonel Didier Badjeck, however, denied that troops shot at civilians, saying Cameroon and Nigerian soldiers are jointly carrying out raids against known Boko Haram hideouts. "We know the terrorists are hiding and taking revenge on harmless civilians but we are protecting them," he said. (AGI)

(December 23, 2015)