Boko Haram militants have abducted the wife of Cameroon’s deputy prime minister in the northern town of Kolofata, the Cameroonian military said Sunday.
The wife of Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali and her maid were abducted in “a savage attack” on his home on Sunday, Information Minister Issa Tchiroma said, BBC reported. Mr. Ali was able to escape to a neighboring town.
“The situation is very critical here now, and as I am talking to you, the Boko Haram elements are still in Kolofata in a clash with our soldiers,” regional commander Col. Felix Nji Formekong told Reuters.
A local mayor, named Seini Boukar Lamine, and his family were also abducted from the same town. At least three people were killed during the kidnappings, Tchiroma said.
Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist militant group, has stepped up cross-border attacks into Cameroon since the neighboring African country joined international efforts in combating them, Reuters reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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