Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped 135 people in a raid on a village in northern Cameroon which left eight villagers dead, local sources said Wednesday.
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The raid took place before dawn on Tuesday in the village of Chakamari in a region known as the Extreme North, which borders Boko Haram strongholds in neighbouring Nigeria.
Cameroon, which is part of a regional force fighting Boko Haram, has been hit by a series of deadly Islamist attacks in recent months.
The attack came as Guinea offered help in the regional fight against Boko Haram whose bloody insurgency in Nigeria has increasingly spread to neighbouring states.
“Men from Boko Haram attacked our neighbours in the village of Chakamari overnight Monday-Tuesday. They killed eight people, two women and six men,” a member of a vigilante group in a neighbouring village told AFP.
The vigilante, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers torched many homes before making off with the hostages.
A police source confirmed the death toll and the number of people abducted.
A soldier at the scene confirmed finding six bodies, describing them as vigilantes.
“The villagers told us that more than 50 people had been kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists,” he told AFP.