Cameroon says its military has carried out the first round of air strikes against Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, after the group overran a military base, and attacked five villages.

Army spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck, confirmed that about 1,000 militants attacked the villages, including Amchide, and seized the nearby Achigachia military base, where they raised their black flag.

He also confirmed the Cameroonian President, Paul Biya, had ordered the Air Force to intervene, and force the militants out.

He said that the air strikes would be a lesson to Boko Haram that it faced a hard reaction if it attacked Cameroon again, as the government is determined to use all its capability to protect its territory.

Cameroon’s Information Minister, Issa Bakary, said that at least 34 militants were killed after the army raided one of their bases in Cameroon, while another seven were killed in a separate clash which also claimed the life of a soldier.

He said that the multiple attacks showed that Boko Haram had adopted a new strategy aimed at “distracting Cameroonian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks.”

About a week before this, Cameroon said it had dismantled a Boko Haram training camp on its territory, and had seized 84 children who were being trained there.

•Text courtesy of Channels TV. Photo shows Cameroonian Air Force jet.