YAOUNDE, Cameroon
At least ten people were killed on Wednesday by twin suicide blasts that shook Maroua, the regional capital of Cameroon’s Far North Region, a security source has told Anadolu Agency.
“The first explosion occurred in the afternoon in Maroua's Hausa neighborhood, while the second happened a few minutes later in the city’s central market,” according to the source, who requested anonymity.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings, but the Cameroonian authorities have attributed similar attacks in the past to the Boko Haram militant group.
The attacks come less than two weeks after a similar twin suicide bombing – which targeted a crowded market in Cameroon’s northern town of Fotokol – killed at least 15 people.
Regional efforts to reign in Boko Haram have recently intensified as the group has continued to stage bloody attacks in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
An 11,000-strong Multinational Joint Task Force – including contingents from Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Benin – has vowed to eradicate Boko Haram within twelve months.
The Cameroonian army, meanwhile, has deployed 6,000 troops along its border with Nigeria to prevent infiltration by Boko Haram militants.
