Video: rare footage shows Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon

Open Doors has received rare video footage of a Boko Haram attack on a village in Cameroon. The footage – filmed by a local contact who was visiting the area – shows how Boko Haram have spread into new regions: today around half the reported attacks occur in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Open Doors has received rare video footage of a Boko Haram attack on a village in Cameroon.

The footage – filmed by a local contact who was visiting the area – shows the orange glow of the village burning in the distance. Further footage shows villagers returning the next day to find more than 100 houses destroyed, three churches burnt and everything of value looted. That same night in the neighbouring village of Toufou, almost 100 houses were burnt and a church-owned health clinic was looted. 

This summer marked ten years since Boko Haram islamic extremists began their devastating insurgency in northern Nigeria. In that time, tens of thousands of Christians have been killed, displaced and abducted. And while they have lost a lot of territory, Boko Haram have spread into new regions: today around half the reported attacks occur in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Open Doors partners bring aid

The territory has gone, but the terror remains. Christian women and girls are particularly in vulnerable – either to being kidnapped and forcibly married, or subjected to barbaric attacks. Boko Haram fighters who stormed the Christian village of Kalagari in Cameroon on 29 July captured and mutilated eight women.

In the midst of the danger, Open Doors partners are risking their safety to bring help. Recently a team visited Roum, a majority Christian village in northern Cameroon which had been attacked by Boko Haram. They were able to distribute vital relief aid and find out what more help the resilient, brave Christians need.

Please pray for Christians in these regions. A decade on, Boko Haram has changed, but their aim is the same: to drive Christians out of these regions. And, a decade on, despite the danger, Christians are still determined to remain.

Support persecuted Christians in Africa

Open Doors partners with the local church to strengthen persecuted believers in these regions, with vital emergency relief and trauma care, as well as training, community development and legal assistance.

Will you be there for your persecuted brothers and sisters? Your prayers and support could be the answer to the prayers of a believer facing extreme persecution.