At least 12 Cameroonian soldiers were killed, and over a dozen others were wounded in a brutal ambush by suspected Boko Haram militants near the Nigerian border, the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Thursday.
The attack occurred Monday night in the volatile Lake Chad region, near the town of Wulgo, an area frequently targeted by Islamist extremists. Military officials said the assailants, suspected to be members of Boko Haram or its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), launched a well-coordinated assault using advanced weaponry.
“This attack highlights the increasing sophistication of these terrorist groups, as well as their growing ties to transnational criminal networks,” the ministry said in a statement.
Boko Haram, which originated in Nigeria in 2009, has waged a relentless insurgency aimed at imposing strict Islamist rule, causing widespread devastation across Nigeria and its neighboring countries, including Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. The militant group has been responsible for mass killings, kidnappings, and bombings, including the infamous 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abduction that drew global outrage.
The conflict, now Africa’s longest-running insurgency, has led to the deaths of approximately 35,000 people and displaced over 2 million in northeastern Nigeria alone, according to the United Nations.
In a recent escalation of violence, at least 40 civilians were killed in January during an attack by Boko Haram militants across the border in Nigeria. Cameroonian authorities have vowed to strengthen military operations in the Lake Chad region to combat the growing threat posed by these extremist factions.
