Chad captures and sentences Cameroonian Islamist to death

August 29, 2015 7:42 AM

Chad's capital N'Djamena, less than 100 kilometres from the Nigerian border, was hit by a series of suicide bombings in June and July that killed more than 40 people.

Chad, a leading country in a military task force against Boko Haram, has sentenced 10 members of the Islamist militants to death on terrorism charges, the chief prosecutor said on Friday.

"The condemned will be shot," Louampambe Mahouli Bruno said on state television.

Chad along with Nigeria is leading the 8,700-strong regional military task force against Boko Haram. Chad's President Idriss Deby has strengthened local anti-terrorism laws and has said that Boko Haram can be destroyed by year end.

The verdict was announced in a closed court room just two days after the trial began and nearly a week ahead of schedule. The people who were sentenced included 30-year-old Cameroonian Mahamat Moustapha, also known as Bana Fanaye, who was named by Chad as the mastermind behind the N'Djamena attacks.

Earlier this week, he pleaded guilty to charges against him, which also included allegations of fraud and drugs and weapon possession, judicial sources said.