Nigeria: Cameroon Denies Report of Release of Boko Haram Hostages

Cameroon's Communication Minister, Issa Bakary, on Friday said he was surprised by the news that some hostages kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in Northern Cameroon were released as reported by a news website.

"You are the first to give me that information," the minister said.

According to the report, Boko Haram militants have released the wife of Cameroonian Deputy Prime Minister, Amadou Ali, 10 Chinese workers and district heads who were kidnapped in different attacks.

The Chinese workers were found missing and believed to be taken by the Nigerian Islamist rebels on May 16 after an attack at a Chinese work site in northern Cameroon.

The wife of Amadou Ali was also believed to be kidnapped on July 27 by Boko Haram militants in Kolofata but the group did not claim responsibility.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya in August strengthened military operations in the far north Region to fight against Boko Haram militants. - Xinhua/NAN

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19:15

Nigeria: Cameroon Denies Report of Release of Boko Haram Hostages

Cameroon's Communication Minister, Issa Bakary, on Friday said he was surprised by the news that some hostages kidnapped by Boko Haram m...

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Cameroon: Boko Haram Hostages Released

Cameroon's presidency says 27 hostages kidnapped by suspected militants of the Islamist group Boko Haram have been released.

It said 10 Chinese workers were among those freed.

Twenty-seven people taken hostage in two incidents earlier this year by suspected members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Cameroon have been released, Cameroon's presidency said on Saturday.

"The 27 hostages kidnapped on May 16, 2014, at Waza and on July 27, 2014, at Kolofata were given this night to Cameroonian authorities," President Paul Biya said in a statement read on state radio, adding that all were safe.

Biya said that the released hostages included ten Chinese workers taken in the May kidnapping, and the wife of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali, who was abducted in July along with several others.

He gave no further details.

The group Boko Haram has killed and abducted hundreds of people this year in northeastern Nigeria as part of a self-declared drive to establish an Islamic state.

The militants drew increased international attention after their kidnapping of some 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April, whose whereabouts remains unknown.

The fighters have also carried out numerous cross-border attacks into Cameroon, leading the government to deploy troops to its northern regions as part of international efforts to combat the group.

tj/msh (AFP, Reuters)

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in Cameroon, Haram, Hostages, News From Africa, Released

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Cameroon: Boko Haram Hostages Released

Cameroon's presidency says 27 hostages kidnapped by suspected militants of the Islamist group Boko Haram have been released. It said 10 ...

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