Cameroon said Wednesday its forces have freed a
German hostage kidnapped six months ago in Nigeria
by Boko Haram, as African leaders appealed to the
United Nations for support in fighting the Islamist
militants.
“A special operation led by Cameroonian armed forces
along with security services of friendly nations
succeeded this night (Tuesday) in freeing Nitsch
Eberhard Robert, a German citizen abducted in Nigeria
in July 2014 by the Boko Haram sect,” the Cameroon
presidency said in a statement.
A spokesman for the German foreign ministry
confirmed the man’s release, adding that he was now in
Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.
No further details were immediately available about the
hostage or the raid itself, including where it took place.
The release was announced a day after Boko Haram’s
leader Abubakar Shekau mocked African leaders who
were meeting in Niger to try to forge a united front
against the Islamists.
“African kings… I challenge you to attack me now. I am
ready.”
Boko Haram — which has been waging a brutal
insurgency in Nigeria since 2009 — previously abducted
foreigners in Nigeria and Cameroon, but all have since
been released.
However, more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the
militants in April last year in one of the most shocking
acts of their insurgency are still missing.
As news of the German’s rescue emerged, the African
Union announced it has asked the Security Council to
approve a mandate for a regional force and a fund to
help finance it.
“Boko Haram is a threat not only to Nigeria and the
region, but also to the continent as a whole,” AU head
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement.
Nigeria’s army has come under fire repeatedly for
failing to crush the militants, whose insurgency has left
13,000 people dead and forced 1.5 million from their
homes.
Boko Haram has also been stepping up attacks in
Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon, where it abducted
dozens of people Sunday.
Niger said Wednesday the headquarters of the regional
African force set up to fight Boko Haram will now be
transferred to Chad after its base in the Nigerian border
town of Baga was overrun earlier this month by the
Islamist militants.
– Regional efforts hamstrung –
Chad is seen as having the most capable military in the
region and at the weekend sent a convoy of troops and
400 military vehicles into neighbouring Cameroon to
battle Boko Haram.
Two Cameroonian soldiers were wounded in heavy
clashes Tuesday with Boko Haram in the far north of
Cameroon, which borders Nigeria.
“We managed to repel the enemy,” a Cameroonian
military commander told AFP on condition of
anonymity. “We saw signs that made us think Boko
Haram lost men.”
Regional efforts to fight Boko Haram have been
hampered by Nigeria’s reticence, with Abuja looking
suspiciously on any foreign military intervention on its
soil.
“Nigeria feels it can take care of the problem itself, but
(Boko Haram) is no longer just impacting Nigeria, it’s an
issue for the whole region,” said an African diplomat
based in Ethiopia’s capital.
Nigeria and its neighbours held talks this week in
Niger’s capital Niamey on speeding up the creation of
the force to fight the militants.
Anger against the militants is growing in Cameroon, with
protesters hitting the capital’s streets Wednesday with
signs saying “Beat it Boko Haram,” and “I am Kolofata,”
in reference to town that has suffered repeated attacks
from Boko Haram.
The group’s leader Shekau claimed responsibility for the
assault on Baga in a video posted Tuesday which is
thought to have killed hundreds and is considered the
militants’ deadliest attack.
In his 35-minute message Shekau said: “We will not
stop. This is not much. You’ll see.


source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/21/cameroon-frees-german-abducted-nigeria-boko-haram