Yaounde : At least 300 militants of Nigerian Islamic sect Boko Haram were killed in fighting with a joint army of Cameroon and Chad in Cameroon’s Far North region, according to latest unofficial figures.
Military sources who declined to be named told Xinhua news agency Wednesday evening that 16 Chadian soldiers and seven Cameroonian soldiers were also killed in the fighting in Fotokol, a town in Far-North region bordering Nigeria.
According to the sources, dozens of civilians, including 30 Muslims, were killed by Boko Haram in the area.
Muslims were praying in a Fotokol mosque when the tragedy took place, the sources said.
Around 7,000 heavily armed militants attacked Fotokol Wednesday morning, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters.
The joint army initially retreated but recaptured Fotokol a few hours later after an offensive.
According to a villager in the area, many civilians left their homes to escape the violence.
The African Union decided at its recent summit to form a multinational force of 7,500 personnel to fight the Boko Haram.
The leaders of Economic Community of Central Africa States will hold a summit Feb 16 in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde to discuss the issue of formation of the troops.