The government of Cameroon has denied that its soldiers have been deliberately killing dozens of Nigerian civilians in cross-border raids while pursuing Boko Haram extremists into Nigeria.
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| Cameroonian Soldiers |
However this is the third time in two months Nigerian villagers have reported attacks by Cameroon soldiers.
Cameroon’s Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has dismissed the reports of war crimes, saying Cameroonian troops were working in perfect synergy with the Nigerian military and have been trained to avoid human rights abuses.
The Nigerian-based extremists frequently stage attacks in Cameroon, targeting everything from market places to mosques.
On Monday, four suicide bombers killed 35 people in the border town of Bodo.
In response, Cameroon said its soldiers crossed into Nigeria and killed 17 insurgents.
On Tuesday, at least 40 civilians were killed in cross-border operations in the Gwadale district in northeast Nigeria.
The deputy commander of a local civil defence group, Muhammad Abba, said the Cameroonians then began to shoot sporadically into the villagers.
Abba said this information came from relatives still trapped along the border in the combat zone.
Abba also quoted villagers who said, that on January 18, Cameroonian soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades indiscriminately, killing a family of four, then shot and killed two elderly men.
The first account of the atrocities came from Nigerian refugees who said Cameroonian soldiers had killed about 150 people, stolen cattle and razed entire villages along a 150-kilometer 95-mile stretch of the border on November 30.
It came days after diplomats said Nigeria refused requests from neighboring states to evacuate civilians and create a no-go zone along the border.
Source: Naij.com
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