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19 Apr, 2016 05:26

American UN envoy Samantha Power's convoy hits and kills 7yo boy in Cameroon

American UN envoy Samantha Power's convoy hits and kills 7yo boy in Cameroon

One of the vehicles in the American ambassador to the UN’s convoy hit and killed a seven-year-old boy in northern Cameroon, according to media reports.

During the incident the ambassador’s motorcade was speeding down a two-way road nearby the town of Maroua in northern Cameroon.

Power was reportedly on her way to visit refugee camps and talk to local politicians about Boko Haram as well as the threat the deadly terrorist group poses.

The ambassador’s visit attracted attention of the locals, who lined up to watch the motorcade fly by.

Just seconds before the incident, the seven-year-old boy rushed onto the road and the sixth car of motorcade — an armored Jeep — hit the child, according to local media reports. The convoy was reportedly traveling at 60 mph at the time.

A man unsuccessfully tried to stop the boy from running onto the road, AP reported.

The driver of the vehicle stopped the car, but was then ordered to leave the area by US military forces, who claimed the area was not secure.

The injured boy was treated by the medics attached to the convoy and then transported to the hospital, where he later died.

Power later returned to the scene of the accident “to offer her condolences in person,” Foreign Policy quoted a State Department official as saying.

“We deeply saddened and offer our sincere condolences to the child’s family,” said the official, who requested anonymity. “At the time of the incident, Ambassador Power was outside Maroua, in the northern part of Cameroon visiting IDP and refugee camps and discussing with Cameroonian officials how to address the threat of Boko Haram in the region,” the official said. “The area had seen … recent instances of Boko Haram violence.”

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