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| Cameroon says 27 Boko Haram hostages released | Cameroon says 27 Boko Haram hostages released |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Cameroon's president has said that 27 hostages, including 10 Chinese workers, held by suspected Boko Haram militants have been released. | Cameroon's president has said that 27 hostages, including 10 Chinese workers, held by suspected Boko Haram militants have been released. |
| Also freed was the wife of Cameroon's Vice-Prime Minister Amadou Ali. | Also freed was the wife of Cameroon's Vice-Prime Minister Amadou Ali. |
| President Paul Biya said that the hostages, seized in May and July close to the Nigeria border, were safe. | |
| Boko Haram is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria but its fighters often cross the long and porous border with Cameroon. | Boko Haram is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria but its fighters often cross the long and porous border with Cameroon. |
| Many Nigerian civilians in border towns have fled to Cameroon to escape Boko Haram attacks, which have been stepped up in recent months. | Many Nigerian civilians in border towns have fled to Cameroon to escape Boko Haram attacks, which have been stepped up in recent months. |
| In July, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger agreed to form a 2,800-strong regional force to tackle Boko Haram militants. | |
| Cameroon has reinforced its troops in its northern regions. | Cameroon has reinforced its troops in its northern regions. |
| Girls' abduction | |
| President Biya said in a statement on state radio: "The 27 hostages kidnapped on May 16, 2014, at Waza and on July 27, 2014, at Kolofata were given this night to Cameroonian authorities. | President Biya said in a statement on state radio: "The 27 hostages kidnapped on May 16, 2014, at Waza and on July 27, 2014, at Kolofata were given this night to Cameroonian authorities. |
| "Ten Chinese, the wife of the Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali, the Lamido (a local religious leader) of Kolofata, and the members of their families kidnapped with them are safe." | "Ten Chinese, the wife of the Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali, the Lamido (a local religious leader) of Kolofata, and the members of their families kidnapped with them are safe." |
| No details were given on the circumstances of the release or whether a ransom was paid. | |
| In July, Cameroon said Mr Ali's wife and maid were abducted in "a savage attack" on his home in Kolofata by Boko Haram militants. | |
| Mr Ali managed to escape to a neighbouring town. | |
| Efforts to step up regional co-operation gained momentum after Boko Haram caused an international outcry by abducting more than 200 girls from a boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria. | |
| The girls are thought to be held in the vast Sambisa forest, along Nigeria's border with Cameroon. |