Suicide bombers spread fear in Cameroon - Bishop Ateba

"Everybody is afraid of the suicide bombers," Bishop Bruno Ateba Edo of Maroua-Mokolo, Cameroon, told Aid to the Church in Need, after a February 19 bombing that killed at least 20 people in a marketplace in Mémé.

The suicide bombings are attributed to the radical Islamic group Boko Haram, but the bishop said that all residents of the area are frightened, "whether we are Muslims or Christians." He pointed out that the bombers are indiscriminate, choosing large public areas like marketplaces for their attacks. "It's the entire population they are targeting!"

The result, Bishop Ateba Edo continued, is a profound fear and disorientation, making people wary of everyone they encounter. "There is a kind of psychosis," he mused.

The bishop said that the bombings continue despite the apparent weakening of Boko Haram. "Militarily speaking, they are already defeated," he said. "But there are still the suicide bombers."