Suicide attack kills 3 in Cameroon’s Far North

Three civilians were killed in Cameroon’s Far North when a vigilante tried to stop a suicide bomber whose explosive device detonated, regional and security sources said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday evening in Djakana, a village near the border with northeastern Nigeria, stronghold of the Islamist group which last year pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

A source close to the regional authorities told AFP that, including the bomber, there were “four dead and a number of wounded, one of whom was in critical condition.”

The toll was confirmed by a security official.

The source said the bomber had been planning to detonate his explosives in the nearby town of Mora on Thursday, which is market day, but his plans were thwarted in Djakana where he was planning to spend the night.

“He was spotted by a member of Djakana’s vigilance committee who tried to neutralise him” which caused the explosion, she said, indicating that the man who tried to stop him was among the dead.

Djakana, which lies just a few kilometres (miles) from the Nigerian border, has been hit by a number of attacks, including one on June 30 in which 11 people were killed.

Another three civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in another suicide bombing in Mora on August 21.

Mora is home to the headquarters of a multi-national force fighting Boko Haram, which groups troops from Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger.

Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people in Nigeria and border areas of neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

It has also left more than 2.8 million homeless, fleeing attacks by militants who have ransacked villages across the poverty-stricken region.