Cameroon releases 84 children held in custody for 6 months

Mijiyawa Bakary, a Cameroon Regional Governor, on Wednesday, said the government had released 84 children who had been held in custody for six months in its Far North region.

He said the children, aged between five and 15 years, had been rounded up along with 43 men during raids on Islamic schools, suspected of serving as indoctrination and recruitment pools for Boko Haram.

The governor said 41 of the children had already rejoined their families.

The human rights group, Amnesty International, had mounted pressure on the authorities to release the children.

The Cameroonian army had frequently been accused of human rights violations in its fight against Boko Haram.

President Paul Biya declared war on Boko Haram last May, after the group started infiltrating into Cameroon from neighbouring Nigeria.