Cameroon claims to have rescued 5000 from Boko Haram as the Islamic group murders ‘spies’ in a new video
More than 5,000 people, including women and children, have been freed from Boko Haram Islamic extremists with at least 60 Muslim fighters killed by Cameroonian and Nigerian soldiers in operations since the end of January, Cameroon’s minister of communication said Tuesday.
“At least 60 terrorists were killed, 21 suspects were arrested and are helping Cameroon and Nigerian military in their investigations,” Bakary said. “A refuge center for the insurgents is entirely destroyed on the Mandara highlands, a petroleum depot destroyed and an explosive factory destroyed.”
Boko Haram logo photo/Arnold Platon via wikimedia commons
Soldiers have also destroyed the residence of a Boko Haram leader which also served as a hideout for the extremists, along with a huge consignment of weapons, vehicles and motorcycles, he said.
In sharp contrast to the uplifting news, Boko Haram yesterday released a new video, purportedly showing the execution of three alleged Federal Government spies on its operations in the Northeast. It beheaded one and shot two others with a Kalashnikov rifle.
The seven-minutes video also accused the three spies of working for the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) to infiltrate the group. Leader Abubakar Shekau is present in the new clip.
Boko Haram in the video displayed a large cache of high-grade military weapons, including what appeared to be anti-aircraft missiles. The terrorists group also boasted that it has not been decimated as claimed by the Federal Government and remains in a place in Nigeria that the military could not “locate and recapture.”
In December, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari announced troops had chased Boko Haram militants out of their key remaining base in the Sambisa forest, another former stronghold that straddles Cameroon’s border with Nigeria.
Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, left 2.6 million homeless and more than 5 million refugees in urgent need of food aid.
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