'Boko Haram kills 2 gendarmes' in Cameroon attack

By Peter Kum

MAROUA, Cameroon

Two gendarmes were killed and several others injured during a Boko Haram attack in the Far North Region near the Nigerian border on Wednesday, a military official told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

"Members of Boko Haram launched an attack at a gendarmerie station at dawn in the town of Sagme near Fotokol around the Lake Chad area and the incursion resulted in the death of two gendarmes,'' Brig. Gen. Frederick Ndjokep, commander of a regional force, said

"Several other soldiers were injured during the attack," Ndjokep added.

"The heavily armed assailants fled to Nigeria via river when an army reinforcement arrived," a military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

This is the second attack at a military post in the Far North Region since Monday.

Last Monday, Boko Haram attacked a military station of the Multinational Joint Task Force that left a soldier dead, according to the military.

The latest attack comes as 10 Cameroonian regional governors gathered in the capital Yaounde to find solutions to the fight against terrorism that has hit the country’s economy hard.

Last month, the Ministry of Defense announced the recruitment of more than 7,000 gendarmes and military personnel as part of the fight against Boko Haram.

Around 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by Boko Haram violence and more than 2.6 million displaced, according to the UN.

Cameroon is part of a regional task force that aims to eradicate the militant group that has so far killed more than 2,000 people in the country, according to government officials.