Cameroonian authorities have ordered all mosques and Islamic centres to be shut in northern parts of the country.The decision was said to be part of a set of measures intended to increase security after several terror attacks in the region, triggered by the country’s war on Boko Haram.
In addition to the closures, young beggars were ordered to vacate the streets as all recent suicide bombers have been children.
According to the OnIslam website and fox news, the governor of the region Midjiyawa Bakari, said the new rules were a response to two incidents in the past week, referring to two suicide attacks by two girls which resulted in killing 31 and wounding tens of people.
Though no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, fingers were pointed as militant group Boko Haram.
Muslims constitute about 20 percent of Cameroon’s total population of 20.5 million.
Most of them live in northern Cameroon and hail from major tribes such as the Fulani and the Peuhl.
Last week, the Cameroonian authorities banned the use of veil among women after two women dressed in the religious garments blew themselves up on Sunday in Fotokol, killing 13 people.
The militant group says it is fighting enemies who have wronged its members through violence, arrests or economic neglect and corruption.
More than 13,000 people are thought to have died since Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2009.
Boko Haram has escalated its six-year-old campaign to impose Islamic law on Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and largest oil-producing nation.
The fighting has drawn in neighboring countries including Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, as the militants broadened their border targets.
