AFRICA/CAMEROON - No contact with the kidnappers, Boko Haram could probably be behind the kidnapping

Monday, 7 April 2014

Yaounde (Agenzia Fides) - "Two Fidei Donum Italian priests and a Canadian nun have been kidnapped by gunmen in northern Cameroon, in the latest kidnapping incident targeting Christian clergy in the African country " say sources of the Church of Cameroon. "We are in contact with the authorities that are doing everything possible to find the religious".
Don Gianantonio Allegri, Don Giampaolo Martha and Sister Gilberte Bussier were abducted on the night between 4 and 5 April in the Diocese of Maroua – Mokolo, in the north of Cameroon (see Fides 05/04/2014 ).
"We do not know where they are. The act is not yet claimed but we imagine who is behind this kidnapping - the sources told Fides who wish to remain anonymous for security reasons - the kidnappers are most probably members of the Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram sect. As soon as we received the news of the kidnapping, steps were taken to strengthen controls along the border".
"For some time - continue our sources - the Cameroonian authorities have focused their attention in this area, because it is known that Boko Haram seeks to establish a makeshift base in the territory of Cameroon. The security forces had intensified their presence in the north of Cameroon to stop Boko Haram to set up shelters in our area".
Despite the security measures taken by the authorities, Boko Haram is still able to strike again . "Investigators suspect in fact that the kidnappers benefit from local complicity that allowed to avoid controls" conclude our sources. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 07/04/2014)


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