Cameroon plans to train vigilante groups

Cameroon Journal, Kidji- Matari – Cameroon’s Defence Minister, Joseph Beti Assomo has said a northern based vigilante group that has taken a frontline role in the ongoing war against Boko Haram will be trained and equipped for more efficiency.

Beti Assomo spent New Year 2016 eve with soldiers at the war front at Kidji-Matari, a border locality with neighbouring Nigeria in Mayo-Sava Division of the Far North Region. Jihadists of the Boko Haram sect have most of the time used the area as a springboard to attacks on Cameroonian territory.

The Defence Minister lauded the efforts of members of the local vigilante groups who often use rudimentary weapons to face the heavily armed militants of Boko Haram. He said government is bound to remobilize members of the groups in order to reinforce their capacity as they collaborate with defence forces on the field to fight Boko Haram.

Far North Governor, Midjiyawa Bakari and the local administrative authorities, Assomo instructed, must take care of members of the vigilante groups to better prepare them to face the enemy. “The Head of State is determined within the available means, to put everything at your disposal,” Assomo assured.

Cameroonian soldiers fighting Boko Haram from every indication should be more determined to sacrifice for the nation, the Defence Minister told them, adding that President Paul Biya devoted 50 per cent of his New Year address to security and defence forces.

Be it in Kidji-Matari or Kolofata that Assomo and the accompanying military officials first visited, the key message was for the forces to maintain discipline within their ranks. In different speeches and working sessions, he further urged them to show exemplary behavior in preserving the army-nation link and build trust with the citizens they are called upon to protect.

During the visit, Assomo inspected the state of military equipment and morale of the troops. He concluded that everything was intact for Cameroon’s forces to crush Boko Haram. For now, there are no clashes between Cameroon’s defence forces and Boko Haram militants. The militants have resorted to suicide attacks using girls and women as suicide bombers.