Cameroon: 13 hostages likely kidnapped by Boko Haram freed

The young hostages disappeared on 13 August from a bus. One boy was executed because a ransom payment was not made in time.

After a two-week ordeal, 13 young hostages, who were likely kidnapped by Boko Haram members in Zigague in Cameroon, have been returned to Maroua, the capital city of the Far North district in the country.

The hostages, among which were three citizens of neighbouring Chad and 10 Cameroonian students, were freed by the armed forces and the elite unit Brigade d'Intervention Rapide (BIR).

"11 other hostages had been taken deep into Nigeria. But thanks to the joint effort by our armed forces, the BIR, gendarmerie and the safety committees, and even the population, everyone has played their part, and we have freed them," announced Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the Far North district.

One hostage, however, did not make it out alive. A boy, identified as Bryan Bessala, aged 19, was killed by the kidnappers, as a ransom payment was not made in time despite efforts from the Cameroonian population, which raised almost 6 million Cameroonian francs in the space of 24 hours.

But the aid came too late for the teenager, who had been kidnapped together with his four siblings from a bus, after returning from a holiday.

In Yaoundé, his mother, Nga Annie, showed relief at the return of her children, but said that she wanted to receive her eldest son's body, which has not yet been found.

"For the one who is not here anymore, I am still asking the government to give me his body, which was not found, so that I can grieve him," she said.

In the Logone et Chari, Mayo Sava and Mayi Tsanaga vicinities, kidnappings related to Boko Haram have become a more and more frequent plight for the inhabitants.