Anti-terror: Cameroon recruits 20,000 to fight Boko Haram

In a bid to restore peace and security in border areas, Cameroonian authorities have revealed that the country is currently recruiting 20,000 more defence and security forces to fight the terrorist Islamist sect, Boko Haram following reports that the terrorist group has begun recruiting young Cameroonians to fight for them.

In an interaction with VOA, a lawmaker from northern Cameroon, Senator Haman Paul, said that the Boko Haram terrorists were recruiting young Cameroonians to fight for the creation of an Islamist caliphate in northern Nigeria. “That was something that we witnessed in Maroua. People told us that they found people in town that were not actually people they were used to. When we found that one part of the country is in a very delicate situation, it is better to manage prevention instead of consequences,” he said.

Economic activities in the border region between Cameroon and Nigeria have been crippled following frequent attacks by the terrorists. Many framers and cattle ranchers have fallen victims of these attacks leaving them with no other option but to flee for their lives. Traders and other businessmen no longer find it safe or profitable to operate and have also fled the area.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan, said in a new year broadcast on Thursday that efforts are being made to re-equip and re-position the armed forces “to enhance their capacity to win the ongoing war against terror and insurgency.”

Jonathan stressed that his government “will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as Boko Haram. They will be defeated. We will not forget. We will not look the other way.”