About 4244 heads of cattle stolen by Boko Haram

Twenty-seven herds of cattle, making a total of 4244 cattle, were swept away by suspected Boko Haram members on the night of January 14, 2016.

According to L’Oeil Du Sahel, Hile Alifa, Makary, and Fotokol were the districts wich were robbed of their herds.

The borough of Hile Alifa paid the heaviest price of this unprecedented event steering a net loss of 2276 herds. Next was Makary with a total of 1908 and finally Fotokol with 60 heads. The victims are mostly farmers at Arabeschoas and are 25 in number.

In search of pasture for their livestock, they had temporarily settled around Lake Chad, specifically the island of Yobe, east of Gore-Yobe Hile in the borough of Alifa.

That was where suspected members of Boko Haram, obviously well informed, launched their operation a few kilometers from Saguir, near Mourdass. The following day, some oxen were found.

Reports revealed that those found were mostly ones which were sick or limping and could not cross the Serbowel River.

“Only 300 cattle were found and recovered on livestock in the district of Hile Alifa. The search continues and we hope to see some herds with the help of God," said Alhaji, one of the victims. In terms of livestock, none has returned to Fotokol and Makary so far.

But many questions remain unanswered: how was it possible that such a huge number of cattle could cross the border without any intervention on both sides of the border? Even though the Cameroonian army has bases in the area, including Tchika, Hile Alifa, and Bargaram.