10/27/2020 Cameroon (International Christian Concern) – Boko Haram, the Nigeria based terror group has made itself infamous around the world due to its attacks against civilians, including many young children. This included the kidnapping of the 276 girls from Chibok, Nigeria. They are not only active in Nigeria however, they have been attacking into Niger, Chad and Cameroon for several years as well.
Some of their recent attacks into Northern Cameroon have caused major problems for the populations there. This population is also currently undergoing the stress and struggle of a civil war in their country between Anglophone dissenters and the Francophone government. The Boko Haram attacks have caused enough problems and killed enough people that the schools in Northern Cameroon have been closed recently. They closed at least 60 schools along the northern border with Nigeria, where Boko Haram is most active, in an attempt to save children’s and teacher’s lives.
This causes another problem though. Children in many African countries are forced to go without school do to violence like this. It often causes these children to fall behind in their studies. They are also then forced to work on farms and in fields at their hoes while they miss out on their education. This leads many of these children to give up on school and continue in subsistence farming. This makes it hard for families to ever break out of the extreme poverty that continue to plague many west African countries.
Cameroon has deployed their military to this region in an attempt to stop the Boko Haram insurgency from causing any more problems, but it will take a long time to end all attacks. Please pray for this war-torn country. Pray for the safety of the children who are being targeted by Boko Haram as both victims and potential recruits.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].
