The targeted killings of civilians, who are soft targets, as against the military by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the Far North Region of Cameroon, have taken a notch forward.
Recently, three individuals were killed in Kerawa and Bakarisse, all in the Far North Region.
The actions were denounced last week by the Catholic Relief Services (CARITAS).
In Kerawa, the leader of the village vigilante group, Kamssouloum Abba was attacked in his house by a group of heavily-armed Boko Haram terrorists.
“They surprised him while he was resting under a mosquito net in the yard of his compound. He was shot at point blank range in the head, the throat and a third bullet in his stomach.
“After a very busy day supervising the operations of the vigilante group, he was very tired and decided to rest when the Boko Haram operatives arrived and surrounded his compound before entering to attack him. They were six in number, all carrying guns.
“Before shooting him, they ordered him to untie a number of his cows for them to take away. It was when he hesitated to do so and tried to dive for his gun that they decided to shoot him,” revealed Kadie Die, one of the leaders of the Kerawa vigilante committee.
“After shooting him, they hurriedly left the village. They did not even untie the cattle they wanted him to untie for them as they were afraid their gunshots might have aroused the attention of the military who have their camp less than one hundred metres from Kamssouloum’s residence”, Kadie Die added.
In a related incident, two other persons were last week killed in the locality of Bakarisse, Kolofata subdivision by Boko Haram operatives.
Eighty-year-old Adja Mahamat and his neighbour Ismaila Ibrahim were killed around midnight on the fateful day.
Adja Mahamat was woken up from sleep by gunshots outside his house and when he came out to find out what was happening, he was shot in the head. He died on the spot.
“It was around 11 p.m. when the criminals secretly invaded the village and started a house-to-house search. It was during the search that Adja Mahamat, considered as the patriarch of the village, was shot dead.
“He was in a deep sleep and did not hear them coming until they arrived at his house. When he got up, he tried to escape but the weight of age could not allow him to run away.
“The criminals opened fire on the old man and killed him on the spot”, disclosed Housseini Luc, the secretary of the village vigilante committee.
“The sound of gunfire alerted the army camped nearby but before the military arrived, the assailants had crossed over to Nigeria from where they came.
“Another person, Ismaila Ibrahim, a neighbour to Adja Mahamat was also killed in the attack. Having heard gunshots in the neighbourhood, Ismaila came out of his house to see what was happening.
“He pointed his torch at the assailants who immediately opened fire, wounding him seriously. He was rushed to the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) camp where he eventually died”, Housseini revealed.
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