Cameroon’s military says it rescued 24 of the hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram in a cross border over the weekend.  The militants abducted some 80 people before making their way back across the border into their stronghold in northern Nigeria.

This is the largest cross-border raid carried out by Boko Haram, and at least three people were killed.  The fates of the rest of the hostages taken in the raid are still unknown.

This comes as the army of Chad put 400 military vehicles, attack helicopters, and an unspecified number of soldiers into northern Cameroon for action against Boko Haram.

“We are going to advance towards the enemy,” said Colonel Djerou Ibrahim, who is leading Chad’s offensive against Boko Haram.  “Our mission is to hunt down Boko Haram, and we have all the means to do that.”

But Chad worries about its ability to take care of the growing swarms of refugees crossing its namesake lake from Nigeria.  The UN says 20,000 Nigerians have fled into other countries to escape the fighting, many to Chad.  These are some of the poorest nations on earth, and were already struggling to feed and protect their own people before the refugee crisis picked up, prompting Chad to appeal for international help.