ICC Note: Boko Haram struck Kolofata, Cameroon with a girl suicide bomber on Sunday, killing nine people, but according to officials, the death toll would have been much worse if a local vigilante group hand not blocked them from entering the market. Far North Region Governor Midjiyawa Bakari commended the courage of the local vigilante group. Northern Cameroon has been struck by seven Boko Haram attacks in the last five days, according to the AP in what appears to represent a larger trend of Boko Haram’s possible shifting focus towards Cameroon. This week, Amnesty International released a report counting nearly 400 people killed by the radical Islamic terror group in the past year.
By Edwin Moki Kindzeka
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Officials in Cameroon’s north on Monday praised a local self-defense group for confronting Boko Haram militants during a suicide bombing attack over the weekend, a move they said greatly reduced fatalities.
Others in the region should follow suit in the face of a seemingly constant onslaught of attacks from the Nigeria-based extremists, said Far North Region Governor Midjiyawa Bakari.
“We are calling on the population to constitute themselves in vigilante groups and be each other’s keeper as Boko Haram lives its last days,” Bakari said.
Northern Cameroon borders Nigeria and has been targeted repeatedly by Boko Haram, including seven attacks in the past five days.
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