«Le bateau a chaviré le 16 juillet entre la ville de Limbé et Bakassi. Il y avait des dizaines de militaires à bord, dont un colonel», a déclaré à l'AFP une source sécuritaire sous couvert d'anonymat, alors qu'aucun bilan officiel n'a encore été communiqué.
La BIR, unité d'élite de l'armée camerounaise, est en première ligne dans la lutte contre le groupe djihadiste nigérian Boko Haram dans la région de l'Extrême-Nord.
Elle a notamment contribué à sécuriser la péninsule de Bakassi, qui a par le passé été le théâtre de prises d'otages.
[francais.rt.com avec AFP]
17/7/17
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Thirty-four Cameroonian soldiers from the elite Rapid Intervention Brigade were missing Monday, a day after an army vessel capsized off the country's southeastern coast.
ReplyDeleteThe ship was carrying 37 people, including crew, and was on its way to the city of Bakassi for refueling when it sank Sunday morning, Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo said in a statement.
"Thirty-four personnel are missing till now," he said. "Three soldiers were rescued but the boat seems to have sunk right down."
He said the circumstances of the accident were not yet clear but the waters were very choppy when it happened.
The Rapid Intervention Brigade is in the front line of Cameroon's fight against Boko Haram in the north.
AFP