Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped 80
people from northern Cameroon
Two dozen of the abductees were freed during
an army operation Monday, officials say
A local official says Cameroonian soldiers had
been chasing the militants back to Nigeria
(CNN)— A military operation in northern
Cameroon has freed 24 of 80 people kidnapped
by suspected Boko Haram militants, according
to Cameroonian officials.
On Sunday morning, the militants targeted the
villages of Mabass and Makxy in the Mayo-
Tsanaga division of Cameroon's Far North
Region, razing more than 80 houses and taking
captives.
Three of those abducted were later found dead,
state-run media reported.
Mijiyawa Bakary, the regional governor, told
CNN on Monday that soldiers from the
Cameroon army's Mobile Intervention Battalion
freed some of the captives during an operation
against Boko Haram.
"The 24 people regained their freedom as the
soldiers were chasing the Boko Haram militants.
The insurgents were fleeing back to Nigeria
from whence they came," he said.
Col. Didier Badjeck, a Cameroonian Defense
Ministry spokesman, confirmed the captives had
been freed.
Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary
said Sunday's mass abduction was the largest
that Boko Haram has conducted inside
Cameroon.
The kidnappings came as some 2,000 Chadian
troops arrived in Cameroon to help fight the
insurgents.
The deployment followed Cameroonian
President Paul Biya's call for international
cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram.
Cameroon has already deployed about 7,000
troops across the Far North, where Boko Haram
has scaled up attacks over the past six months.
Boko Haram has terrorized northern Nigeria
regularly since 2009, attacking police, schools,
churches and civilians, and bombing government
buildings.
It has also kidnapped students, including more
than 200 schoolgirls who were abducted in April
-- and remain missing.
The Islamist group has said its aim is to impose
a stricter form of Sharia law across Nigeria,
which is split between a majority Muslim north
and a mostly Christian south.
Initially, Boko Haram militants crossed the
border into neighboring Cameroon to steal food
or kidnap foreign nationals, but more recently
the group has attacked military installations.
While Chad is the first country to put boots on
the ground in Cameroon, the international
community and regional bodies are also
expressing concern.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to
condemn Boko Haram by name in a strongly
worded statement later Monday.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/19/africa/cameroon-boko-haram-kidnap/index.html