Fotokol

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Fotokol
Commune and town
CountryFlag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Time zone UTC+1 (WAT)

Fotokol is a town and commune in Logone-et-Chari Department, Far North Region, Cameroon. It is home to Fotokol High School. [1]

Contents

The town is about 300 metres (330 yards) across a small river from the Nigerian village of Gamboru, where Fotokol residents often go for supplies. [2] [3] In 2014, the Gamboru Ngala massacre by jihadist group Boko Haram killed 300 people, endangering Fotokol residents as well. [4] [5] [6]

As of June 2014, "soldiers and paramilitary officers have been deployed in ... [Fotokol] to provide security for residents and allow children to safely attend school." [4]

In September 2014, the United Nations announced that it was making efforts to move 5,000 refugees staying in Fotokol to safer locations, to avoid cross-border incursions by Nigerian insurgents. Over 8,000 refugees had already been moved to the Minawo refugee camp. [7]

On 29 and 30 January 2015, fighting between Chadian soldiers and Boko Haram was reported in Fotokol and surrounding areas. [8] [9] On 4 February 2015, Boko Haram launched a counterattack, to a Chadian assault, on Fotokol, killing 81 civilians, 13 Chadian and 6 Cameroonian soldiers. [10] Boko Haram launched a series of suicide attacks in the town, leading to the region's governor to place restrictions on Islamic veils. [11]

On 6 January 2020, a bombing in Gamboru on the bridge which connects it to Fotokol killed at least 30 people. [12]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 West African offensive</span> Coalition offensive against Boko Haram

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The 2015 Fotokol attack occurred on 4 and 5 February 2015 when Boko Haram militants reportedly killed at least 91 people by shooting and burning, and injured over 500 in Fotokol, Cameroon. The militants, who are based in northeastern Nigeria and active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, also torched mosques and churches of the town. This attack came a day after the regional forces said it had driven Boko Haram from Gambaru, a Nigerian town close by. This was the second foreign country attack by the militants in 2015. This region of Niger is an area where refugees had arrived by the thousands seeking safety from Boko Haram attacks.

The 2015 Chad suicide bombings were a suicide attack which occurred the afternoon of Saturday 10, October 2015 in the town of Baga Sola, Chad, a small fishing community on Lake Chad. The attack was allegedly perpetrated by the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and resulted in the deaths of around 36 individuals, and wounded upwards of 50 more. The attacks were reportedly carried out by two women, two children, and a man with the intended targets being a busy marketplace, and a nearby refugee camp hosting tens of thousands of Nigerians. It was the deadliest attack to take place in the Lake Chad region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Basin campaign (2018–2020)</span> Series of battles and offensives in the Chad Basin

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Gamboru bombing</span> 2020 terrorist attack in Nigeria

At about 5pm on 6 January 2020, a bomb exploded at a market in Gamboru, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. The market is located on a bridge which connects Gamboru to Fotokol, Logone-et-Chari, Far North Region, Cameroon. The bombing killed 38 people and injured over 35 others. No group claimed responsibility. Boko Haram often carry out attacks in the region, their insurgency having caused over 35,000 deaths since it began in 2009.

References

  1. "60 Boko Haram Members Killed by Cameroon's Army". Bella Naija. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  2. "Africa - North Cameroon living in shadow of Boko Haram". France 24. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  3. "Nigerians flee to Cameroon to escape Boko Haram violence". Naijaurban. 2012-02-09. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  4. 1 2 Kaze, Reinnier (2014-06-04). "Bullets in the classroom: Cameroon students caught in Boko Haram crossfire - Cameroon". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  5. "Mayhem! Violence escalates in Nigeria". JamaicaObserver.com. 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  6. "Cameroun - Extrême Nord/Logone et Chari: La brigade de gendarmerie de Fotokol transformée en lieu refuge par les soldats nigérians fuyant les islamistes du Boko Haram". Cameroon-Info.Net. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  7. Valentine MULANGO (2014-09-24). "Cameroon: Cross-border Attacks by Boko Haram Endangers Refugees in Fotokol, UN Seeks to Move 5000 to Safer Location". Cameroon-Info.Net. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  8. "Chadian jets bomb Nigerian town in anti-Boko Haram raid". AFP - Yahoo News. 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  9. "3 Chad soldiers, 123 Boko Haram militants killed in Cameroon - Yahoo News". AFP - Yahoo News. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  10. "Chadian jets bomb Nigerian town in anti-Boko Haram raid". News24. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  11. "Cameroon bans Islamic face veil after suicide bombings". BBC News. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  12. Nigeria hit by deadly bomb attack near Cameroon

Coordinates: 12°22′N14°14′E / 12.367°N 14.233°E / 12.367; 14.233