A police officer speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said that
before the Canerroonian military confronted them, the Boko Haram
fighters "cut the throats of many civilians, 30 at least".
The manager of a money transfer agency was among the murdered, he
said, and a Catholic church, a Protestant church and several bars were
burnt.
"They wanted to attack the camp" where elite soldiers were garrisoned
"with a booby-trapped car, but the soldiers were one step ahead of
them and destroyed it," the police officer said.
A security guard in Amchide at the time of the attack confirmed the
officer's information.
"The Boko Haram fighters killed many people in town. They cut the
throats of my neighbours. They killed the Express Union manager and
two security guards in his shop. They burned the churches and a
mosque," he said.
"The army told us to leave town, so we did," he added.
The defence ministry made no mention of civilian deaths in its statement.
It said that the heavily armed Boko Haram members were travelling in
armoured vehicles that crossed over from Nigeria.
The fierce fighting started late Wednesday and after a pause resumed
on Thursday, ending with Boko Haram fleeing back over the border,
according to the ministry.
A tank, a pick-up truck and a Peugeot car packed with ammunition and
explosives were destroyed by the soldiers, it added.
"Several light and heavy arms were seized," the ministry said.
"Calm has returned and our defence forces are in control of the border areas".
Cameroon shares a border of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles)
with Nigeria, where Boko Haram has been waging a bloody insurgency
since 2009 in which 10,000 people have died.
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