Senior defence officials say that Cameroon has been infiltrated by Nigeria’s Islamist extremist group Boko Haram and there are fears that this central African nation, known for its stability, is drifting into chaos.

In this photo taken Sunday May 11, 2014. A soldier and other government officials inspect the bridge that was bombed following an attack by Islamic militants last week in Gambaru, Nigeria. Many brutalized residents of the once bustling town of Gamboru say they are moving across the border to Cameroon because they cannot trust the Nigerian government to protect them, after repeated attacks by Islamic militants, In this photo taken Sunday May 11, 2014.

A soldier and other government officials inspect the bridge that was bombed following an attack by Islamic militants in Gambaru, Nigeria. Many brutalized residents of the once bustling town of Gamboru say they are moving across the border to Cameroon because they cannot trust the Nigerian government to protect them

“Right now, we are being infiltrated by Boko Haram. The military has decided to strengthen the intelligence system to effectively counter this threat, which seems to be gaining local support,” says Colonel Didier Badjeck, spokesperson for the Cameroon Ministry of Defence.

Governor of Cameroon’s Far North Region, Augustine Awa Fonka, says that the precision with which the Nigerian Islamist extremist group attacked a military post in the region on May 5, lends credence to the fact that the attack was carried out with the help of local informants.

Cameroon’s north western boarder runs along the length of Nigeria’s eastern border, stretching all the way to Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, a Boko Haram stronghold. In March, the Cameroonian government set up a number of military posts along the border with Nigeria in response to Boko Haram’s insurgency.

But on May 5, over 30 suspected Boko Haram insurgents struck the Kousseri military post in Cameroon’s Far North Region and killed a gendarmerie officer and a civilian being held in custody. Several people were wounded as the group freed one of their members, who was also being held at the post.

Spreading fear “In all of the cases [of Boko Haram attacks], especially the attack on the military post, there are quite a number of arrests that have been made. The attack couldn’t have been carried out without local informants and we believe we are going to identify these accomplices,” Awa Fonka says.

He admits that the attack on the military was spreading fear among locals.

“The forces of law and order are there to protect the population. When they [the military] are now being attacked, it destabilises everyone,” he says.

He describes the attackers as “faceless” terrorists would could only be tracked down with help of locals, adding that “every measure will be put in place to track down the attackers, or at least get their accomplices.”

Refugees Attacks in Nigeria have also resulted in refugees fleeing to safety in Cameroon. On May 6, scores of gunmen whom police suspect were from Boko Haram — which means ‘Western education is a sin” in the local Nigerian language, Hausa — raided a market in the Nigerian border town of Gambourou. More than 200 people, including four Cameroonians, died in the attack. Around 3,000 Nigerian nationals, many of whom were wounded during the attack, crossed over to the Cameroonian town of Fotokol.

“The forces of law and order cannot do it alone. They need the population to denounce people of doubtful origin who are in their neighbourhoods. We need to unite, because a nation unified against its enemy is invincible,” Awa Fonka says.

But the readiness of locals to cooperate remains doubtful.

“People are suspicious of each other. You can’t possibly trust even your next door neighbour because you do not know with whom they sit and dine,” says Alamine Ousman, a Kousseri resident.

“But we know that Boko Haram members are here among us — they move about like anyone else, and you can’t even tell they are from Boko Haram.”

Fundamentally evil Many in the region remain afraid for their lives and are reluctant to volunteer any information about Boko Haram’s members.

Hawe Aishatu, who escaped the attacks in the Far North Region and fled to the capital, Yaoundé, cast a furtive glance before she speaks in a subdued tone.

“It can mean death talking about these people. They are fundamentally evil,” she says.

The recent attack on the Kousseri military post forced El Hadji Numbao and his family to flee the town. He says that if the insurgents had the nerve to attack military posts, then ordinary people like himself were not safe.

“It’s so scary,” says, Numbao, having just arrived at Yaoundé the train station.

“It’s difficult to live in a place where even the rustles of tree leaves jolt you out of a rare sleep, and where you know you and your kids could be killed without warning,” he says.

Central African Republic Adouraman Halirou, a university don and specialist on border issues, says that he feared Cameroon, which frequently prides itself as being a fountain of peace in a troubled African continent, may be drifting into chaos.

He urges the government to make use of all its available human and technical resources to stem the threat.

“The conflicts, the crises and the tensions plaguing the region, particularly Nigeria, have not failed to have repercussions in our country,” says Minister of Communications Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

Military posts have also been set up on the country’s eastern border with Central African Republic (CAR), as Cameroon has also faced attack there. In Cameroon’s East Region over 18 locals were kidnapped on May 2 by insurgents from CAR.

“Cameroon is subject to attacks perpetuated from neighbouring countries, and by nationals of those countries,” Tchiroma Bakary says.

Until then Cameroonians like Numbao will continue to flee for safety.

“I have left everything back: my businesses, my cattle…everything. But I am happy my seven children and three wives are safe,” Numbao says. He has relocated to the capital with his entire household.