Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun seized in April by gunmen in northern Cameroon have been released, according to the country’s communications minister.<br /><br />The former hostages have reportedly been flown to the capital Yaoundé and are said to be in good health.<br /><br />At the time of their abduction, the kidnappees were identified by the Catholic Church as priests Giampaolo Marta and Gianantonio Allegri – missionaries from the diocese of Vicenza in Italy – and the nun as Gilberte Bussières.<br /><br />The three were taken at gunpoint from their accommodation in the district of Maroua in the early hours of April 5. <br /><br />While no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnap, suspicion has fallen on Nigerian militant faction Boko Haram.<br /><br />Its members seized and later released a priest and a French family of seven in Cameroon last year.<br /><br />Meanwhile Boko Haram fighters have killed thousands of people in an attempt to carve out an Islamic state in neighbouring Nigeria.
