Fotokol

Fotokol
Commune and town
Map
Country Cameroon
Time zoneUTC+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]

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]

  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. ^ a b 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