A 12-year-old girl suicide bomber killed 20 people in an attack on a bar in Maroua in Cameroon, while in a crowded market in neighbouring Nigeria a “mentally handicapped” female attacker killed 14.
The child bomber blew herself up among Saturday night revellers in the popular bar, injuring at least 79 others, Cameroonian state TV reported on Sunday.
No one claimed responsibility for Sunday’s explosion but the latest attack bears the hallmarks of the armed group Boko Haram.
Police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin told the Reuters news agency that the bomber, “a female of about 10 years old capitalised on the crowded entrance of the market where screening was being conducted and detonated the device”.
At least two other females were killed in the attack.
Hundreds of people have been killed in bombings and shootings across northern Nigeria since Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated as president on May 29.
He has made a number of changes aimed at tackling the insurgency, including replacing his defence chiefs.
The Islamists, whose six-year insurgency and efforts to quell it have left at least 15,000 dead, have recently stepped up their attacks in the restive Lake Chad region despite a major regional offensive.
Cameroon’s army has joined the campaign against Boko Haram after a series of deadly cross-border raids into its territory.
The insurgents have abducted thousands of people, including hundreds of women and girls, in the past two years, rights groups say.
