Female suicide bombers kill one in Cameroon's Far North

YAOUNDE - 2 July 2017: One civilian was killed and two others injured Saturday when four female bombers blew themselves up in Cameroon's Far North, an area regularly targeted by Boko Haram jihadists, local sources told AFP.

The incident took place in Mora, near the northwestern border with Nigeria, during the early hours of Saturday morning, when four female bombers set off the deadly blasts near the edge of town, a source close to the security services said.

Mora is home to the headquarters of the first sector of the Mixed Multinational Force, an anti-insurgent regional force, as well as a large artillery unit of the Cameroonian army.

"There was one civilian victim and two injured," the source said, adding that all four bombers also died.

The attackers were trying to reach the centre of town when they were spotted by members of the vigilance committee and troops, the source said.

They then detonated the bombs.

Details of the attack were confirmed to AFP by a source close to the local authorities.

Vigilance committees are made up of local residents and aim to inform security forces of any suspicious activity in a bid to prevent attacks by Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency since 2009.

Though Boko Haram was born in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting the formation of the regional force to fight back.

The Far North region, which borders Nigeria, has seen a resurgence in attacks blamed on Boko Haram after months of relative calm.

Six civilians were killed nearly two weeks ago in a double suicide attack in Kolofata, and two others died in Limani in early June when a female bomber blew herself up near the town's public school.

Some 200,000 Cameroonians from the Far North region have fled their villages in fear of the violence.