Cameroon's far north sees upsurge in armed attacks

There’s an upsurge in armed attacks in Cameroon’s far north region, security officers said.

The village of Ouzal is the target of a spate of Boko Haram attacks this week, which left 3 civilians dead.

“Everything was burned, the consulting room, the pharmacy, the head office and the treatment room, excluding the hospital ward”, a nurse at the Ouzal hospital, Amadou Dairou said.

We're losing lives, losing brothers, we losing mothers, every day we're in mourning.

Ousseni Oundi is one of the village elders. He’s concerned about the state of affairs.

“We’re losing lives, losing brothers, we losing mothers, every day we’re in mourning… you see how houses are burned, goats are burned, property and people. We couldn’t figure out the final toll. We built our health centre, we suffered for it, people worked, we struggled”, Oundi said.

Military sources told AFP that four other locations have been hit within the same period. They include Mandoussa, Oudal, Kouva and Hitere in Cameroon’s far north region.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said three children have been missing since the attack. The attackers also looted shops.

On Tuesday, the United Nations called on the Cameroonian government to undertake an impartial and independent probe into the death of 23 people in the English-speaking region during a military operation.