Explosions kill 14 in Cameroon town near Nigeria border
YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- Two bombs planted by suspected Boko Haram fighters went off at a bar in a northern town in Cameroon, killing at least 14 people, a military spokesman said Monday.
Col. Didier Badjeck said three Chadian soldiers were among those killed Sunday in Fotokol, a town on the border with Nigeria's Borno state. He said no Cameroonian soldiers were hurt.
Resident Abdoulaziz Bambam said the death toll may rise because more bodies are being recovered.
Fotokol was attacked by Islamic extremists in February when scores were killed and churchesand mosques were burned.
Troops from Cameroon and Chad are fighting Nigeria's Islamic extremists in several communities, including Fotokol, on Cameroon's border with Nigeria.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the twin suicide bombings and extended condolences to families of the victims and the government and people of Cameroon.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Ban is encouraged by the measures already taken by Cameroon's government to counter the Boko Haram threat. The U.N. chief encourages countries in the region to further strengthen their cooperation to tackle the threat posed by the Islamic extremist group, he said.
Ban also commends the government and people of Cameroon for welcoming refugees from the region since the beginning of the crisis, Dujarric said.