Boko Haram militants in Camerdoon snatch 50 children in mass abduction

24 people were rescued by Cameroon’s army following Boko Haram’s latest mass abduction.

16:04 19 January 2015

Suspected Boko Haram militants have abducted about 80 people, the majority of them aged between 10 and 15 years old. At least three were killed in Cameron after the militants crossed the border from Nigeria.

An official has confirmed the news on Reuters, saying: "According to our initial information, around 30 adults, most of them herders, and 50 young girls and boys aged between 10 and 15 years were abducted."

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s army swiftly rescued 24 people over the weekend.

A defence ministry spokesman announced: "The Cameroon army was able to free about 24 hostages taken yesterday by Boko Haram in the far north. They were freed as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria."

It was one of the largest kidnappings on Cameroonian soil since Boko Haram began expanding its operations zone across the border last year. The mass abduction took place as Chadian soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles arrived to help Cameroon fight off the jihadists.

Attacks from the group include the one that took place earlier this month when a young female suicide bomber was blown up in a crowded market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 19 people.