Cameroon: at least 15 dead in Madegoua attack

Armed men entered the locality around 2:00 am. A member of a local vigilance committee told Reuters that residents were taken from their homes, bound, and then killed. The initial toll reported 13 dead, before two injured individuals succumbed to their wounds at the Makary hospital.

Cameroonian media also report injuries and missing persons. Administrative, military, and political authorities have visited the site, and security forces have been deployed to secure the area and search for the missing individuals.

No group had claimed responsibility for the attack by Thursday evening. Local sources attribute it to Boko Haram, while a security analyst interviewed by Reuters suggests it may have been carried out by fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who are active in the region.

Madegoua is located in the Logone-et-Chari department, near the borders with Nigeria and Chad. This part of the Lake Chad basin has faced attacks from Boko Haram and splinter groups against civilians and security forces for several years.

Cameroon is part of the Multinational Joint Task Force engaged against jihadist groups around Lake Chad. Following the Madegoua attack, defense and security forces have maintained their deployment in the area, according to local authorities cited by Cameroonian media.