Samuel Omang
Cameroon’s authorities have confirmed the rescue of 10 children who were abducted in the country’s troubled Far North region last week, though one of the captives did not survive.
The children were seized while travelling on a commercial bus from Kousseri to Maroua, and later taken across the border into Nigeria. For days, officials in Yaoundé kept silent on the incident, sparking outrage among families and civil society.
On Thursday, the Governor of the Far North province, Midjiyawa Bakari, announced in a video posted on social media that a joint operation involving Cameroonian soldiers, Nigerian troops, and a regional anti-jihadist taskforce had secured the release.
“Unfortunately, one of them lost their life,” Bakari said, without disclosing the circumstances. He added that around 15 people in total had been taken hostage during the attack.
Authorities confirmed that at least 50 suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident. However, the governor did not clarify how the kidnappers struck or whether they were linked to Boko Haram, the Islamist group blamed by local media for the abductions.
Boko Haram has waged a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009, with its operations spilling into neighbouring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. The group is notorious for mass kidnappings, including the 2014 abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria.
The recent kidnapping had fuelled public anger in Cameroon, with relatives accusing the government of silence and inaction. Some families launched a community fundraiser in a desperate bid to secure the captives’ freedom.
Governor Bakari insisted that security forces had been on the ground “for a week,” combing the area until the children were freed. He referred to the kidnappers as “outlaws” who were forced to abandon their captives under military pressure.
Civilians in Cameroon’s Far North remain highly vulnerable to extremist violence. Both Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), routinely target rural communities with raids, kidnappings, and bomb attacks.
According to local monitoring groups, the region recorded 246 armed attacks in 2023, resulting in at least 169 civilian deaths.
The government has promised to maintain heightened security operations in the borderlands, but families of victims say they still live in constant fear.