Boko Haram militants killed at least 16 people and wounded six in a grenade attack on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Nguetchewe, Cameroon’s Far North region. The assailants, exploiting their knowledge of the terrain, threw a grenade into a group of sleeping residents at 1:00 AM, targeting the camp’s 800 inhabitants near the Nigerian border in Mozogo district, according to local mayor Mahamat Chetima Abba.
Women and Children Among Victims
A female attacker carried the grenade into the camp, killing women and children among the 16 victims, with some bodies dismembered, a witness reported. The wounded were rushed to Mokolo district hospital, an hour away. The attack, part of 20 incursions in the past month, shattered a brief period of calm, as Boko Haram bypassed security checkpoints, per UNOCHA data. Approximately 1,500 residents, including villagers, fled to Mozogo for safety.
Comparison to Chad Attack
Two days earlier, on July 31, 2020, Boko Haram struck a village in Chad’s Lake Chad region, killing 10 civilians and kidnapping seven, per UN News. Both attacks targeted vulnerable communities near Lake Chad, with Nguetchewe’s grenade assault mirroring Chad’s raid in its focus on soft targets. Chad’s attack involved direct violence and abductions, while Nguetchewe’s used an explosive, amplifying civilian casualties. Both reflect Boko Haram’s cross-border strategy, exploiting porous borders in the Lake Chad Basin, per International Crisis Group.
Regional Context
Boko Haram, founded in Nigeria in 2002, has waged a violent campaign since 2009, spreading terror to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, per Council on Foreign Relations. The Far North, hosting 321,886 IDPs and 115,000 Nigerian refugees in 2020, faces acute poverty and insecurity, fueling recruitment, per UNOCHA. A June 2020 attack on a Lake Chad island killed 24, including 16 Cameroonian soldiers, highlighting the group’s lethality. Cameroon’s army killed five Boko Haram fighters a week before the Nguetchewe attack, per UN records.
Humanitarian Crisis
The attack underscores the vulnerability of displaced populations, with 3 million displaced across the Lake Chad Basin, including 2.7 million IDPs, per UNHCR. Nguetchewe’s survivors face hunger and fear, with farmers avoiding fields due to attack risks, per UNHCR’s September 2020 update. The UN condemned the attack, urging protection for civilians and humanitarian access, as local communities struggle to support refugees amid COVID-19 challenges.
Ongoing Challenges
Cameroon reported 87 Boko Haram attacks in 2020, with 22 in Mozogo alone, per UNOCHA. The group’s tactics, including grenade attacks and abductions, exploit the region’s weak infrastructure and ethnic ties to Nigerian border towns, per International Crisis Group. Enhanced military patrols and community protection are critical to curb the violence, which has killed over 30,000 and displaced millions since 2009.
