Boko Haram expanding from Nigeria to Cameroon

The terror that Boko Haram continues to inflict on Nigeria has spilled into neighboring Cameroon in the form of refugees and direct attacks from the radical Islamist group.

Cameroon’s military fought with Boko Haram militants Sept. 6, killing 100 of them who had crossed into the country to attack the town of Fotokol, Cameroon state media outlets said. The army forced the rest of the fighters back into Nigeria’s Borno state, the birthplace of Boko Haram.

For nearly three weeks in August, Boko Haram controlled the Cameroon village of Ashigashia before the military was able to retake it, Voice of America reported.

The Islamic extremists have increased attacks on villages and towns in Cameroon, burning down schools and kidnapping or murdering civilians. As in Nigeria, the group has targeted Christians, looting and even burning down a pastor’s home, World Watch Monitor said. In one town, two church elders were beheaded.

“The assailants attack in the night, when the army is no longer patrolling in the villages. They enter the houses of Christians and strip them of their properties,” a community leader told World Watch Monitor. “Several churches were ransacked, and valuables such as musical instruments were destroyed or taken away.”

In early August, Boko Haram killed 25 people in Cameroon, including Pastor Jean Marcel Kesvere of Lutheran Brethren Church of Cameroon, Mission Network News said. Kesvere worked with World Mission. Greg Kelley, executive director of World Mission, told Mission Network News that although they mourned Kesvere’s death, the work he began would continue because the people he rooted in Christ aren’t giving up.

“They continue to rejoice in the Lord and know that He is in control despite the persecution. They continue to pray for other people to step in and fill the gap,” Kelley said.

Even before fighting crossed the border, the influx of refugees from northeast Nigeria, where Boko Haram declared an Islamic caliphate, had taken a toll on Cameroon.

“Boko Haram poses a regional threat far beyond its proven capability to perpetrate acts of terror outside of Nigeria’s porous borders. Already, by targeting Christian and moderate Muslim communities across northeast Nigeria, Boko Haram has forced tens of thousands of Nigerians to flee to neighboring countries like Cameroon, Niger and Chad—none of which are prepared to handle refugee populations upwards of 10,000—or face the sword,” said Cameron Thomas, the regional manager for Africa with International Christian Concern.

The Christian community especially has tried to care for refugees, but is running out of resources, according to church leaders.

‘'The action of our churches has initially consisted of providing the refugees … with food, shelter, and medicines. But now, the capacity of our churches is overwhelmed, as their number has increased up to threefold,” the Rev. Samuel Heteck told World Watch Monitor. Heteck is part of the crisis committee created by the Council of Protestant Churches in the far North.

Heteck said that after a year of assistance, resources were depleted and “help and generosity of our brethren from abroad has been slow to appear.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.