Jihadists crossing from Nigeria killed three members of a village self-defence force Monday in northern Cameroon, the local mayor said.

“Boko Haram killed three members of the vigilance committee this morning” in the village of Kaliari, the mayor of Mozogo district, and also its traditional leader, Mahamat Chetima Abba, told AFP.

Cameroon has set up civilian self-defence groups in remote areas in its Far North region, which has been hit by deadly incursions from neighbouring Nigeria.

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the toll, and gave the age of the fatalities as 25, 30 and 40.

Boko Haram and a splinter group called the Islamic State in West Africa Province have stepped up attacks in recent years in Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

READ ALSO School resumption: Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, four others shun FG’s directive

More than 36,000 people have been killed, most of them in Nigeria, and three million people have fled their homes since Boko Haram launched its insurrection in northeastern Nigeria in 2009.

Niger is also being hit by jihadists crossing from Mali.

Around 100 people were killed in two villages in the western Niger region of Tillaberi on Saturday, according to the local mayor.