Cameroonian soldiers freed 900 held hostage by Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in an operation last week, Cameroon’s defense minister announced.
Defense minister Joseph Beti Assomo said that a “special clean-up operation” took place from November 26-28 which “neutralized” Boko Haram militants along the Nigerian border, according to a broadcast on national radio. Assomo said also that 100 Boko Haram members had been killed in the process.
The operation was executed by a regional task force put together in March consisting of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin to eradicate Boko Haram presence in Nigeria and surrounding countries.
Hundreds of Boko Haram captives have been rescued by troops this past year, but identities of captives have not been confirmed to know whether any of the 219 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria in 2014 have been rescued.
Since its inception six years ago, Boko Haram has killed nearly 20,000 and has driven 2.3 million to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
