Boko Haram Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Northern Cameroon==== [[File:Boko_Haram_vehicles_destroyed_by_Cameroon_in_Dec._2018.jpg|thumb|Vehicles used by Boko Haram destroyed in Northern Cameroon]] Boko Haram continued to increase its presence in northern Cameroon. On 16 May, ten Chinese workers were abducted in a raid on a construction company camp in Waza, near the Nigerian border. Vehicles and explosives were also taken in the raid, and one Cameroonian soldier was killed. Cameroon's anti-terrorist Rapid Intervention Battalion attempted to intervene but were vastly outnumbered.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304908304579567933126108684 |title=Chinese Workers Kidnapped by Suspected Boko Haram Militants in Cameroon |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |author=Emmanuel Tummanjong |date=17 May 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014}}</ref> In July, the deputy prime minister's home village was attacked by around 200 militants; his wife was kidnapped, along with the Sultan of [[Kolofata]] and his family. At least 15 people, including soldiers and police, were killed in the raid. The deputy prime minister's wife was subsequently released in October, along with 26 others including the ten Chinese construction workers who had been captured in May; authorities made no comment about any ransom, which the Cameroon government had previously claimed it never pays.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/boko-haram-releases-27-hostages-including-deputy-pms-wife-cameroon-says-9788845.html |title=Boko Haram releases 27 hostages including Deputy PM's wife, Cameroon says |work=[[The Independent]]|author=Natasha Culzac |date=11 October 2014 |access-date=20 December 2014}}</ref> In a separate attack, nine bus passengers and a soldier were shot dead and the son of a local chief was kidnapped. Hundreds of local youths are suspected to have been recruited. In August, the remote Nigerian border town of [[Gwoza]] was overrun and held by the group. In response to the increased militant activity, the Cameroonian president sacked two senior military officers and sent his army chief with 1000 reinforcements to the northern border region.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/boko-haram-plans-attacks-recruits-many-young-people/ |title=Boko Haram plans more attacks, recruits many young people |work=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)]] |date=8 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28684302 |title='Islamist militants' kill 10 in northern Cameroon |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=6 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Umar|last=Haruna|title=Boko Haram takes Nigeria town, resident says |url=http://news.yahoo.com/boko-haram-takes-nigeria-town-resident-says-172534738.html |website=[[Yahoo! News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018131556/http://news.yahoo.com/boko-haram-takes-nigeria-town-resident-says-172534738.html |archive-date=2014-10-18}}</ref> Between May and July 2014, 8,000 Nigerian refugees arrived in the country, up to 25 per cent suffering from acute malnutrition. Cameroon, which ranked 150 out of 186 on the 2012 [[UNDP]] [[Human Development Index|HDI]], hosted as of August 2014 107,000 refugees fleeing unrest in the [[Central African Republic|CAR]], a number that was expected to increase to 180,000 by the end of the year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nigerian overnight refugees worry Cameroon |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2013/12/24/nigerian-overnight-refugees-worry-cameroon |website=The New Humanitarian |language=en |date=24 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cameroon: Malnutrition Hits Children Arriving From Central African Republic |url=https://www.wfp.org/countries/cameroon |website=www.wfp.org |date=31 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cameroon receives 8,000 refugees fleeing Boko Haram in Nigeria |url=http://tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/10497-cameroon-receives-8-000-refugees-fleeing-boko-haram-in-nigeria/10497-cameroon-receives-8-000-refugees-fleeing-boko-haram-in-nigeria |website=www.tribune.com.ng |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811211242/http://tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/10497-cameroon-receives-8-000-refugees-fleeing-boko-haram-in-nigeria/10497-cameroon-receives-8-000-refugees-fleeing-boko-haram-in-nigeria |archive-date=2014-08-11}}</ref> A further 11,000 Nigerian refugees crossed the border into Cameroon and Chad during August.<ref>{{cite web |title=UN agency, partners appeal for $34 million for Nigerian refugees |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2014/09/477572-un-agency-partners-appeal-34-million-nigerian-refugees#.VCKijPldVx8 |website=UN News |language=en |date=16 September 2014}}</ref> {{Further|December 2014 Cameroon clashes}} In the second half of December, the focus of activity switched to the [[Far North Region (Cameroon)|Far North Region]] of Cameroon, beginning on the morning of 17 December when an army convoy was attacked with an IED and ambushed by hundreds of militants near the border town of [[Amchide]], {{convert|40|mi|km|order=flip|sigfig=1}} north of the state capital [[Maroua]]. One soldier was confirmed dead, and an estimated 116 militants were killed in the attack, which was followed by another attack overnight with unknown casualties.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cameroon-boko-haram-idUSKBN0JW1GR20141218 |title=Cameroon army kills 116 Boko Haram militants, defense ministry says |work=[[Reuters]]|date=18 December 2014 |access-date=29 December 2014 |archive-date=29 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229080333/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/us-cameroon-boko-haram-idUSKBN0JW1GR20141218 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 December, the Rapid Intervention Battalion followed up with an attack on a Boko Haram training camp near Guirdivig, arresting 45 militants and seizing 84 children aged 7β15 who were undergoing training, according to a statement from Cameroon's [[List of ministries of Cameroon|Ministry of Defense]]. The militants fled in pick-up trucks carrying an unknown number of their dead; no information on army casualties was released.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cameroon-boko-haram-idUSKBN0K01IA20141222 |title=Cameroon army says dismantles Boko Haram training camp |work=[[Reuters]]|author=Tansa Musa |date=22 December 2014 |access-date=29 December 2014 |archive-date=29 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229080221/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/us-cameroon-boko-haram-idUSKBN0K01IA20141222 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 27β28 December, five villages were simultaneously attacked, and for the first time the Cameroon military launched air attacks when Boko Haram briefly occupied an army camp. Casualty figures were not released. According to Information Minister Issa Tchiroma: {{blockquote|Units of the group attacked Makari, Amchide, Limani and Achigachia in a change of strategy which consists of distracting Cameroonian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-violence-cameroon-idUSKBN0K70PL20141229 |title=Cameroon says fights off Boko Haram attacks, kills 41 militants |work=[[Reuters]]|author=Tansa Musa |date=29 December 2014 |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref>}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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