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The Cameroonian military says members of
Nigerian militant group Boko Haram have
abducted the wife of the country's deputy
prime minister in the north.
The wife of Amadou Ali and her maid were
taken in the town of Kolofata near the Nigerian
border on Sunday, it adds.
A local religious leader, who is also town mayor,
was also kidnapped in a separate attack in the
same town.
Boko Haram has stepped up cross-border
attacks into Cameroon in recent weeks, as the
army was deployed to the region.
Militants have kidnapped foreign nationals in
northern Cameroon before, including a French
family and Chinese workers.
'Critical situation'
The home of Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali
"came under a savage attack from Boko Haram
militants," Information Minister Issa Tchiroma
told Reuters on Sunday.
But the minister, who was breaking his fast for
the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the time
of the attack, managed to escape to a
neighbouring town, regional commander Col
Feliz Nji Formekong told the news agency.
"The situation is very critical here now, and as I
am talking to you, the Boko Haram elements are
still in Kolofata town in a clash with our
soldiers," he added.
Local leader Seini Boukar Lamine and his family
were also abducted in a separate attack on his
home.
Cameroon's long and porous border with Nigeria
means Boko Haram fighters can come and go at
will, attacking police stations and villages, and
spreading terror throughout the region, says
BBC Africa editor Mary Harper.
The group has attacked Cameroon three times
in as many days in the past week, killing at least
four soldiers, Reuters reports.
On Friday, more than 20 members of the
militant group were jailed in Cameroon on
charges of possessing illegal firearms and
plotting an insurrection.
The armed group is seeking to establish an
Islamists state in Nigeria.
Earlier this week, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and
Niger agreed to form a 2,800-strong regional
force to tackle Boko Haram militants.
Efforts to step up regional co-operation gained
momentum after Boko Haram caused an
international outcry by abducting more than 200
girls from a boarding school in north-eastern
Nigeria.
The girls are thought to be held in the vast
Sambisa forest, along Nigeria's border with
Cameroon.
Many Nigerian civilians in border towns have
fled to Cameroon to escape from the Boko
Haram attacks.
BBC
