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Soldiers killed in Bakassi clash Nigeria and Cameroon probe attack
(1 day later)
More than 20 Cameroonian soldiers have been killed during fighting in the Bakassi peninsula near the border with Nigeria, say Cameroon army officials. Cameroon and Nigeria are now working together to find out who killed 21 Cameroonian soldiers in the Bakassi peninsula near their border on Tuesday.
Details of the clash remain unclear. Cameroonian military sources told the BBC the attackers wore Nigerian military uniforms and ambushed a boat. Initially Cameroonian military sources said that the attackers wore Nigerian military uniforms and ambushed a boat.
But the Nigerian military are blaming militants from the volatile Niger Delta for the attack. While Nigeria blamed local militants from the volatile Niger Delta region.
The Niger Delta lies just west of the sensitive and oil-rich peninsular. Nigeria handed the sensitive and oil-rich Bakassi peninsula over to Cameroon in August 2006 after a ruling by the International Court of Justice.
Nigeria handed the Bakassi peninsula over to Cameroon more than a year ago in compliance with a ruling by the International Court of Justice. So far, no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack which according to Cameroon's secretary general at the presidency, Laurent Esso, involved a group of unidentified individuals aboard boats and who apparently were not soldiers.
Delta militants? Mr Esso also said that 10 of the assailants were killed and one of their seven boats was destroyed when the Cameroonian army returned fire.
The Nigerian army said the raid could have been carried out by the same group of gunmen that had earlier attacked a nearby oil terminal run by Exxon Mobil. 'Categorically denying'
If so, this will be the first time that Nigerian militants have attacked Cameroonian territory, says the BBC's Alex Last in Nigeria. Nigerian army spokesman Colonel Solomon Giwa Amu emphasised he was, "categorically denying that Nigerian soldiers attacked anyone in that area [Bakassi peninsula], we don't even have troops in that area".
He says there are a number of questions to be answered about why such a raid would be carried out now; was it simply an opportunistic attempt to grab weapons, or was it an attempt to show local Nigerian dissatisfaction with the Bakassi handover, or was it a deliberate attempt by a militant group to escalate the violence in the region? The handover was unpopular with Nigerian residents
So far, no-one has claimed responsibility. Col Amu told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We are all abiding by the decisions of the court; we withdrew our troops in compliance with that decision and ever since the relationship between the two countries have been at an all time high."
The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Cameroon says that military sources told him the attackers wore Nigerian military uniforms and attacked a Cameroonian military boat carrying food intended for soldiers on the peninsula. Replying to the allegations of whether there was a link between the Bakassi attack and an earlier attack on a nearby oil terminal run by Exxon Mobil, also on Tuesday, Col Amu said: "Such claims could not be made until they were verified."
They killed the Cameroonian soldiers on board and put on their uniforms. They then went to the peninsula and shot and wounded more unsuspecting soldiers before getting away with some military equipment. Recent peace
Our reporter says there is great surprise in the region at the incident as since the peaceful handover in August 2006, the area has been quiet. There is great surprise in the region at the incident as since the peaceful handover in August 2006, the area has been quiet.
Sovereignty dispute
There were a series of bloody clashes between Nigeria and Cameroon in the 1990s.There were a series of bloody clashes between Nigeria and Cameroon in the 1990s.
Many living in Bakassi before the ruling saw themselves as Nigerian
The peninsula had been administered by Nigeria since independence from Britain in 1960.The peninsula had been administered by Nigeria since independence from Britain in 1960.
However, Cameroon based its claim of sovereignty over the region on maps dating back to the colonial era and was successful at the International Court of Justice after a lengthy case.However, Cameroon based its claim of sovereignty over the region on maps dating back to the colonial era and was successful at the International Court of Justice after a lengthy case.
Bakassi juts into the Gulf of Guinea, an area which may contain up to 10% of the world's oil and gas reserves.Bakassi juts into the Gulf of Guinea, an area which may contain up to 10% of the world's oil and gas reserves.
It is also rich in fish and most locals are fishermen.It is also rich in fish and most locals are fishermen.