A couple who were part of a citizen patrol in Gambaru, a town in Borno state, in northeast Nigeria, were recently killed by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Known locally as 'vigilance committees’, these groups are made up of civilians, who alongside the authorities, are engaged in the fight against terrorism. It’s not the first time members of one of these committees have been targeted in this border zone, where Boko Haram remains very active.

The town of Gambaru is located on the border with Cameroon (in red on the map). Boko Haram fighters attacked it for the first time in May 2014, killing more than 300 residents, before taking over the town that August. Many residents fled to nearby Fotokol (marked in blue on the map), a town located across the border in Cameroon. The only separation between these two towns is a bridge.

That year the terrorist group made several incursions into Cameroon.

In February 2015, the Chadian army liberated Gambaru. However the army quickly withdrew from the town, leaving it once again to the mercy of the terrorist group. The Nigerian army took it back that September.

Boko Haram also attacked the Cameroonian city of Fotokol several times in 2015.

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The situation in this border zone calmed down in 2016 and 2017, before worsening again in early 2018.