Militants kill 15 in overnight Cameroon raid, village sources say

September 17, 2026 3:20 PM EDT

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong

YAOUNDE, ‌Sept 17 (Reuters) - ​Suspected ​Islamist militants killed at least 15 people in a pre-dawn attack on a village in northern Cameroon, ‌a local vigilante and an administrative authority said on ⁠Thursday, in the latest violence to hit the area plagued by a ‌long-running insurgency.

• Armed insurgents ‌entered the village of Madegoua, near the town of Makary, at around 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Thursday, pulling out men ​and tying them up before executing them, said the local vigilante member, who requested anonymity to discuss the incident ⁠for security reasons.

• The initial death toll had been 13 though two other victims ​later died from injuries at a Makary hospital, according to the vigilante.

• The victims initially confirmed dead ​were buried on Thursday, according ‌to a video seen by Reuters, which was not immediately able to independently verify it.

• No ⁠group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. A security analyst told Reuters it was likely carried out by Islamic State West Africa ⁠Province (ISWAP) militants who are active in the area.

• Some villagers said they ​suspected the assault may have been enforcement of an earlier order from militants for them to vacate, given it sits on a strategic route towards ‌Makary.

• Cameroon's Far North, which borders Nigeria and Chad, has for years been affected by ‌violence involving Boko Haram and other Islamist militants operating in the ⁠Lake Chad basin.

• Cameroon ‌is part of a ​regional multinational military force fighting Islamist militants around Lake Chad.

(Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Editing by Jonathan ‌Spicer)



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