Kerawa is on the border with Nigeria and is subject to frequent Boko Haram attacks. FILE - Members of a civilian vigilante group stand guard at the border with Nigeria in Kerawa, Cameroon, March 16, 2016. Kerawa is on the border with Nigeria and is subject to frequent Boko Haram attacks.





VOA could not immediately verify that information. Access to combat zones remains restricted, and mobile communications are spotty.



Tchiroma said the military gains have not come without a cost. He said three Cameroonian soldiers were killed last week, one by a bomb and two others during heavy fighting.



In December, Nigeria announced that it had flushed Boko Haram out of key strongholds in the Sambisa forest and the border between Cameroon and Nigeria was completely reopened for the first timejust walking around like a powder keg."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Winter is now a director whose films include the documentary Deep Web

Winter, whose other films include 1987's The Lost Boys, which starred Kiefer Sutherland, and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey in 1991, said he had previously held his silence about his childhood experiences.

Describing the impact of being abused as a young boy, he said: "It's hellish, to be totally frank. You know, it's hellish.

"I don't think anybody felt like they were going to be heard if they said anything about this type of behaviour, until very recently.

"I didn't feel that I had any place of safety to unlock an extremely sensitive and potentially dangerous secret," he continued.

Surprise at speaking out

Winter said his experiences had left him