Human screens protect worshippers at Sunday Mass

After Boko Haram terror attacks in northern Cameroon, Catholics in the African country have formed human chains to screen off areas where Mass is celebrated outdoors, a local bishop reports.

Bishop Bruno Ateba of Maroua-Mokolo told Aid to the Church in Need that he always celebrates Mass outdoors. "The faithful form a ring around the area, and anyone who attends must pass through security controls".

The defensive measures were adopted after suicide bombings that killed 30 people in Maroua in July. Recently, on September 3, two suicide bombers struck at a crowded marketplace; the casualty figures are unclear.

Bishop Ateba reported that more than 100,000 people in his region have been driven from their homes because of fear of terrorist attacks.

About 50,000 refugees from Nigeria, fleeing the Boko Haram offensives there, now live in a refugee camp in his diocese.