Abducted Cameroonians found dead

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Five bodies found riddled with bullets near Cameroon's border with Nigeria are victims of a recent kidnapping, officials say.

Felix Morfan, the deputy governor of the Bakassi region, and six Cameroonian soldiers were kidnapped by suspected rebels from Nigeria on Monday.

Nigeria handed over most of the oil-rich northern Bakassi regon to Cameroon in 2006.

The rest of the disputed peninsula is due to be handed over in August.

Although not immediately identifiable, authorities say they are in no doubt the bodies found in a mangrove swamp are those of the abducted men.

"There is almost no doubt that the kidnapped sub-prefect is among them and that the sixth person whose body has not been found is also deceased," the ministry of defence told AFP news agency.

Bitter handover

It is not clear who carried out the attack but people in the area suspect Nigerian militants from the Niger Delta are responsible.

Nigeria agreed to hand Bakassi over to Cameroon following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2006.

Most of the area's residents are Nigerian and bitterly oppose the handover.

Last November, 21 Cameroonian troops were killed in the same area.

This latest attack has increased tension and caused many Nigerian residents to head across the border fearing retribution, says the BBC's West Africa correspondent, Will Ross.

People living there complain they have not benefited from the Bakassi's oil revenue, our correspondent adds - a grievance that is also one of the main reasons for the unrest in the Niger Delta.

A challenge to the ICJ decision brought in the Nigerian courts by Bakassi residents who wanted to remain in Nigeria was this week turned down.