New dimension added to the Boko Haram threat as Cameroonian Forces bombard terror group

by Benson Agoha

Cameroonian forces have reportedly killed at least another 41 Boko Haram fighters, in addition to the 200 already killed in their last face-off.

The latest attack, according to a report by Bloomberg today, followed clashes in the north of the country which resulted in the casualties on the terror group. It came after a series of attacks by the Islamist-militant group, the Cameroon government official said.

With the Nigerian authorities being accused of softning on Boko Haram, the reported air bombardment by Cameroon forces on the terror group adds a new dimension to the confrontation.

Boko Haram added Cammeroon to their assault list when they crossed the border and reportedly abducted the wife of a Cameroon goverment official. They have followed up with that assault on the country's military.

Report on the Bloomberg said Cameroon soldiers responded to raids on the towns of Makary, Amchide, Limani and Achigachia near the border with Nigeria. Quoting a Cameroon government spokesman, it said government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma Bakary told reporters about the casualities, in Yaounde, the Cameroon capital yesterday.

Cameroon which shares vertical lenght border with Nigeria in the east, is a Central African nation. It's army was said to have deployed military aircraft for the first time in its fight against the insurgents.

The action appears to be contratry to the prefered method by the Nigerian military who are said to be wary about deploying air bombarment against the terror group, even though they kidnapped over 200 school girls from their hostel in Chibok, Bornu State earlier this year.  The group said they later married the girls off to their fighters - effectively dashing hopes raised when the Nigerian authorities claimed to have reached agreement with the terror group to return the girls unharmed.

At least 34 fighters were killed when the Cameroonians attacked a Boko Haram base camp at Shogori, while an exchange of fire at Waza on the border left seven militants dead, the report by Cameroon governement spokesman said. One Cameroonian soldier died and three others were wounded.

Boko Haram has been a menace to the Nigerian authorities and made 2014 a year of hell for the country, with bombings deployed at Parks and Bus stations, army barracks or on the road sides.  It has also used suicide bombers, one of which was caught before she detonated her device.

Boko Haram leader, Abubarkar Shekau, released a video laughing at the claim by the Nigerian authorities that his group had reached an agreement to release the girls safely to their worried families. He said "We are not a group you can negotiate with", adding "the Chibok girls have since converted to Islam and were married off", dashing hopes of their return.

Boko Haram aims to be part of the Islamic States "caliphate" and recently released a photo of themselves with IS flag and reports say Boko Haram, which had killed over 10,000 in Nigeria, is comprisied of actual soldiers and that they hold better weapons. The source of those weapons are still unkwown but they appear to be well funded.

Indeed Boko Haram has been targeting both civilitians and security forces in Nigeria for the past five years, and aims to impose Islamic law in Nigeria as part of their caliphate.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya was said to have sent more than 1,000 troops to the border with Nigeria as Boko Haram intensified its cross-border attacks in the country.

The Islamic State, up to which Boko Haram looks, is currently on the receiving end of allied forces bombardment, led by the US and Great Britain.  But the Nigerian authorities are reluctant to use air bombarment in case the girls can still be rescued alive.

In a recent interview, the Nigerian Army's spokesman, Major Gen. Olukolade told journalists that the issue was not about who holds a better weapon, but that whereas Boko Haram remain mere bandits seeking to inflict as much terror as they could, the Nigerian Army is a structured military with rule and works to follow established rules.

Still Cameroon’s government urged residents in the north to cooperate with the military by providing information that may help detect the militants, as the Blumberg report said.

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