Eight refugees in Cameroon killed by Boko Haram

Eight refugees in Cameroon were killed by the Islamist group Boko Haram.

According to several testimonies, they had returned to inspect their homes damaged in Gamboru in northeastern Nigeria when they were attacked.

The victims "were killed by bullets by Boko Haram", said Babagana Bukar, a Gamboru Nigerian refugee in Fotokol, Cameroon, near the border. "They were inspecting their homes when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire, killing five men and three women," he said.

Two other refugees residing in Fotokol confirmed these remarks. One of them, Umar Babakalli, said that two other women were captured and they managed to escape to cross the border. They have been treated, he added.

The Chadian army participating in first of a regional military operation to fight against the Nigerian Islamist group has recaptured Gamboru in February from Boko Haram.

They were again deployed late March to the city, a few days after another deadly attack of the Nigerian Islamist group, which had taken advantage of the absence of a security force in the city.

In the event of Ramadan, Nigeria, with nearly 200 people killed by Boko Haram in 48 hours, recorded early July its worst week since the new President, Muhammadu Buhari, took office May 29.

The wave of attacks has affected several villages in Borno State (northeast), epicentre of the Islamist insurgency, now affiliated with the Islamic State group (IS).

The Islamist group operates since 2009 in Nigeria, where the uprising and its suppression led to more than 15,000 dead.