Cameroon: Explosion at Multinational Joint Task Force base in Mora, casualties unknown

The military base of the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram in Mora, Cameroon, was struck early Wednesday morning by an explosion.

According to our correspondent, Celestin Succes Tabouli in Cameroon, the cause of the explosion, which occurred at about 1220 GMT (01:20am local time), at the Mbarma locality of the base, is not yet known.

Meanwhile, heavy military machinery and vehicles have been reduced to ashes, the correspondent reports, adding that there is no information on the number of dead or injured.

The people in the town, who believe the explosion was caused by Boko Haram, have fled with most of them seeking refuge on the Monts Mandara mountain located in the town, our correspondent reports.

The base is the first of the three Multinational Joint Task Force bases with the other two in Chad and Nigeria respectively.

The Mora base is commanded by Brigadier General Bouba Dobekreo, who was given the mandate on September 11, 2015 by the head of the Task Force, Nigerian General Iliyasu Isah Abbah, to help in the combat against Boko Haram.

The Mora base hosts Cameroonian and Chadian soldiers who operate around the Cameroon-Nigeria border and the Lake Chad.