At least 20 Cameroonian soldiers were killed on Tuesday when Boko Haram fighters disguised as herders attacked military positions in Wulgo, a Nigerian border town near Lake Chad.
According to Channels news, the insurgents had mixed with herders and traders in Gamboru, a nearby commercial hub, before moving into Wulgo under the cover of darkness.
At 1:00 am, they launched a surprise attack on military bases, leading to a fierce two-hour gunfight. The militants overpowered the soldiers, burned the bases, and took away heavy weapons, including Soviet-made Shilka anti-aircraft guns, according to security sources.
A local resident, Muhammad Sani Umar, who visited Wulgo after the attack, described the scene,”The military bases were a mess, with buildings and vehicles burnt down. I saw three Cameroonian military trucks carrying 13 bodies back into Cameroon this morning.”
Since 2021, Boko Haram has been more active around Lake Chad, attacking towns such as Wulgo, Waza, Gwoza, and Pulka. The group frequently targets herders, loggers, and scrap metal scavengers, accusing them of spying for the military.
Tuesday’s attack is the deadliest on Cameroonian troops in the area in recent years. In March 2021, Boko Haram killed two Cameroonian soldiers in Wulgo and injured three others.
The Boko Haram insurgency, which started in 2009, has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced over two million in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. In response, these countries formed a regional military force to combat the militants.
Authorities in Cameroon and Nigeria have not yet issued an official statement on the latest attack.
