Boko Haram members

Kazeem Ugbodaga

At least 480 civilians have been killed since Boko Haram has significantly increased its attacks in Cameroon and begun deliberately targeting civilians in suicide bombings, Amnesty International has said.

The international organisation said that in the evening of Wednesday 29 June, six people were killed when a young boy detonated a bomb in Djakana, a district of the town of Limani in northern Cameroon, near the Nigerian border.

“The bomber died on the spot. Five people who were wounded during the attack later died in hospital. This horrific suicide bombing illustrates the threat posed by Boko Haram in the far North of Cameroon and across the Lake Chad region.

“The Cameroonian security forces should take all lawful and necessary measures to protect civilians from such attacks, while ensuring respect for human rights. Those responsible for human rights abuses and crimes under international law should be brought to justice in fair trials not subject to the death penalty,” Alioune Tine, Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa said.

The body said from July 2015 to July 2016, Boko Haram had conducted at least 200 attacks, including nearly 40 suicide bombings in the far North region of Cameroon, which had killed at least 480 people.

Boko Haram launched its first of such attack in Cameroon on 12 July in Fotokol, killing 13 civilians and two soldiers.