As reported by Voice of America on 17 October 2020, Cameroon"s army "has been reporting at least three Boko Haram attacks every week since January. The military says most of the attackers are suicide bombers, mainly women and children. The military says the terrorist group has torched 13 schools within the past two months, held at least 200 people for ransom and abducted an unknown number of civilians." Government officials say that over 34,000 students have been registered as IDPs. 62 schools in areas bordering Nigeria"s Borno State have now been closed for safety reasons. Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Boko Haram has impacted the lives of millions in West Africa. While governments have their hands full with the global COVID-19 crisis, the radical Islamic group has stepped up its attacks in the region. The closure of the schools in northern Cameroon is a reminder of how overwhelmed such countries are by the dual challenges of the pandemic and Islamic militancy. What makes the Cameroon situation more dire at this moment is that the Islamist groups have had time to reorganize, recruit and expand their operations while the government has been focusing on fighting the Anglophone insurgency. The increasing activity of Islamic militants is particularly threatening for Christian communities."