Twenty-seven hostages seized by suspected militants from Boko Haram in Cameroon this
year, including 10 Chinese workers, have been released, the Cameroon presidency said
on Saturday.
The Chinese workers were seized in May near the town of Waza, 20 km (12 miles) from
the Nigerian border. The others freed include the wife of Cameroon’s vice-prime
minister who was seized in July, the presidency said.
“The 27 hostages kidnapped on May 16, 2014, at Waza and on July 27, 2014, at
Kolofata were given this night to Cameroonian authorities,” President Paul Biya said
in a statement read on state radio.
“Ten Chinese, the wife of the Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali, the Lamido of
Kolofata, and the members of their families kidnapped with them are safe,” it said,
giving no further details.
Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people this year, mostly in North Eastern Nigeria.
The group made international headlines when it abducted about 200 Chibok schoolgirls
in Borno State, Nigeria in April.
Boko Haram has stepped up cross-border attacks into Cameroon this year. Cameroon has
deployed troops to its northern region, joining international efforts to combat the
militants.
