No less than 41 members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect were killed in clashes with the army in Cameroon over weekend, the government said on Monday.
The Cameroonian army launched a series of air strikes and on-the-ground attacks on the militant group after it crossed the border and seized a military base.
President Paul Biya personally ordered the retaliation attack which forced Boko Haram to flee the military base at Assighasia, a government representative said in a statement late Sunday.
“Fighter planes went into action for the first time since the start of the conflict on the Cameroonian side of the frontier, after several months of deadly cross-border Boko Haram raids,” Communications Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said.
“After two strikes and heavy fire… the assailants fled the Assighasia camp… losing several fighters,” he added.
Military operations were still under way, he continued, saying that “the toll from combat will be released once the operational evaluation is complete”.
