At least 20 people were killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack carried out by a girl in Maroua in the far north of Cameroon on Saturday night, just days after 13 died in twin bombings in the city, state TV said on Sunday.
It said a 12-year-old girl suicide bomber blew herself up in a restaurant, killing 20 people and injuring at least 79 in the blast, France24 reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the north of the country has been repeatedly targeted by Nigeria-based Boko Haram extremists.
“A girl of around 12 blew herself up between two takeaway sales points. Security forces have sealed off the area and have made several arrests,” the state TV said.
The atrocity came a day after Boko Haram were also blamed for a wave of attacks on villages across the border in northeastern Nigeria that left at least 25 dead and forced hundreds more to flee their burning homes.
Maroua, the commercial hub of the extreme north of Cameroon close to the Nigerian and Chadian borders, was already reeling after 13 people were killed in twin suicide bombings on Wednesday in a central market and in a nearby neighborhood by two teenage girls.
The city has been under heavy security for months as the threat from Boko Haram has grown, with motorbikes, which the insurgents often use to stage their raids, banned from the streets after dark.
Boko Haram has recently stepped up attacks in the restive Lake Chad region despite a major regional offensive against the extremists.
