Two suicide bombers killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 40 others in a small town in northern Cameroon, near the Nigerian border late on Wednesday, a senior army source and a local official said.

"There were 14 deaths, including the two suicide bombers, and 42 wounded," said an army colonel responsible for evacuating the wounded, who asked to remain anonymous.

"The attack was perpetrated by one suicide bomber, and the other was shot dead."

The attack was carried out by two women who walked into a busy area in the centre of Waza, 8km from the Nigerian border, said Midjiyawa Bakari, the governor for the Far North region where the attack took place.

He said 13 people had been killed and 43 wounded, and that a baby was among the dead.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the region has been a frequent target of Boko Haram militants in their eight-year bid to carve out an Islamic caliphate beyond Nigeria. Last month, nine people were killed in the town of Kolofata when two children carrying explosives blew themselves up near a camp housing people displaced by Boko Haram violence.

Boko Haram attacks have killed more than 20000 people in the Lake Chad region, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and, according to UN refugee agency figures, displaced 2.7 million.