Chinese among freed Cameroon hostages
Print Edition
CAMEROON’S government announced yesterday that 27 hostages presumed to have been kidnapped by Boko Haram, including 10 Chinese construction workers and the wife of a vice prime minister, had been freed.
The hostages were returned early yesterday morning and “are safe and sound,” according to a statement from President Paul Biya’s office read on state radio.
The Chinese road construction workers were kidnapped in May from their base in Waza, in Cameroon’s Far North region.
Francoise Agnes Moukouri, wife of vice prime minister Amadou Ali, was among a group of 17 people kidnapped in a July attack targeting their residence in the border town of Kolofata. Officials said at the time that 200 fighters stormed the residence, though Ali himself was away.
As the fighters left with their hostages, they set fire to the residence, stole safes and vehicles and killed five people, a military spokesman said at the time.
A local religious leader was also abducted in the July attack and released yesterday, according to the Cameroon government.
Boko Haram never claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but both incidents raised concerns that the Nigeria-based insurgents were expanding operations in Cameroon as the government became increasingly involved in regional efforts to contain them.
Cameroon says it does not pay ransoms in kidnapping cases, and yesterday’s brief statement provided no details on the conditions of the hostages’ release.
Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said he could provide no details.
But on Wednesday, witnesses said Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the secretary-general of Cameroon’s presidency, arrived in Maroua, capital of the Far North region, fueling speculation that negotiations were nearing a conclusion.
Ngoh Ngoh was credited with sealing the release of other hostages, including a French priest kidnapped last November and freed the following month.
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