CALABAR—More than 80 Cameroonian
soldiers, early yesterday, crossed the international border between Nigeria and
Cameroun and invaded Danare in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State,
claiming they were fighting Cameroon militants who took refuge in the
community.
Vanguard learned that more than
3,000 refugees from Cameroun are currently taking refuge in Danare, which
borders the Central African country.
A group of Danare indigenes, led by
a former councillor in Boki coucil, Dauglas Ogar, who addressed journalists in
Calabar, yesterday, said the gendarmes stormed their village about 2p.m.,
yesterday and started shooting, sending people running for safety.
He said: “Our people did not sleep
yesterday because the gendarmes from Cameroun invaded our community claiming to
be looking for Ambazonia militants. The militants, who have since taken refuge
in the surrounding forests, were also shooting and the whole community was in
chaos. “It is important to recall the sad invasion of Danare communities by
Cameroonian soldiers on January 25 this year when more than 80 well armed
Cameroonian soldiers crossed the international boundary in the
Danare-Daddi/Danare-Bodam international border openings and abducted five
natives.
“By the time they left this morning
(yesterday), they said their mission was to warn residents of Danare
communities to be aware of their return to carry out a military raid.
“According to them, it was intended to cleanse Danare communities of all
Ambazonia refugees’ threat to the Cameroon Government. “The soldiers threatened
to come back to Danare to execute the proscription of Southern Cameroonians
taking asylum in Danare as a result of the ongoing Anbazonia crises which
resulted in the mass influx of refugees from neighbouring Southern Cameroon
villages to Danare communities and many other Nigerian border communities.
“This is a calculated offensive from
Cameroon military on Nigeria. They have shown outright defiance to Nigeria’s
territorial sovereignty and dammed the consequences of crossing the
international boundary to carrying out all sort of intimidation and harassment
on already alarmed citizens of Danare, with warnings of their further assault.
” He noted that the current
situation in their community points “to how weak the Cameroon government sees
Nigeria and its security consciousness. “They have weighed the vulnerability of
defenceless residents of Danare and concluded that it was capable of inflicting
mass death on the citizens of Nigeria and refugees of Southern Cameroon hosted
in Danare.
” He explained that the breach of
the country’s internal security was posing a serious danger to the peace and
safety of residents, the refugees and the entire Boki communities in Nigeria.
“The Paul Byia contingents are leveraging on the poor security state of Danare
border and all Boki communities to hatch a well-thought out genocide,” he said.
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