An armed group, suspected to be Boko Haram, attacked a U.N. technical team working along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, killing five persons and wounding several.
According to the United Nations Office for West Africa, the attack occurred on Tuesday at around 1400 local time near the Cameroonian border town of Kontcha.
“The victims were one U.N. independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national,” it added.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, condemned the attack.
While the attackers have not been identified, the area is within a region where fighters from Islamist militant group Boko Haram are active.
The insurgents have killed more than 15,000 people since 2009 and have recently stepped up suicide bombings.
The U.N. team was working on demarcating the more than 2,000 km (1,200 mile) land border which has been a source of friction between the neighbouring countries in the past.
In a related development, a police man has died with another one injured by suspected Boko Haram insurgents while on patrol around Kubuwa village in Damboa local government of Borno State.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer Borno State Command, the men were ambushed in a police patrol vehicle from the Biu Area Command on investigation duty to Maiduguri, at about 10:30 pm on Tuesday.
The affected policemen have been taken to the Damboa General hospital and the injured policeman is responding to treatment.
Tuesday’s ambush was the second in two days as a military convoy had been attacked on Saturday along the same Damboa road with casualties from both the military and civilian side.
Earlier on the same day, a suicide bomber had detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the Dalori quarters in Maiduguri, killing two people. (NAN/Channels TV)
