Two killed in suicide bombing in country's Far North

pulse

June 16, 2017 12:56 PM

In recent weeks, the restive Far North region has seen a resurgence in Boko Haram attacks after months of relative calm.

Cameroon's Far North is a restive area which has been regularly attacked by Boko Haram jihadists, who are based in northeastern Nigeria

Two civilians have been killed in a suicide attack in Cameroons restive Far North, an area regularly targeted by Boko Haram jihadists, local sources told AFP early Friday.

The incident, which took place on Thursday evening, saw a female bomber entering Limani on the border with Nigeria and blowing herself up "behind the town's public school," a source close to the security services said.

"There were three people killed: two civilians and the bomber," the source said. Details of the attack were confirmed to AFP by a member of the local vigilance committee.

In recent weeks, the restive Far North region has seen a resurgence in Boko Haram attacks after months of relative calm.

Last week, a soldier was killed in an attack in Kolofata, 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Limani, and in early June, nine civilians died in a double suicide bombing in the same town.

In another incident on Thursday morning, one member of the vigilance committee in a village near Kolofata was killed and nine others wounded in a friendly fire incident, according to the source close to security officials.

"The army made a mistake. They fired a rocket-propelled grenade towards a group of vigilantes" in the mistaken belief they were jihadists.

Made up of local residents, these vigilance committees aim to inform security forces of any suspicious activity in a bid to prevent attacks by Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency since 2009.

Though Boko Haram was born in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting the formation of a regional force to fight back.

Some 200,000 Cameroonians from the Far North region have fled their villages in fear of the violence.

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