The bloody conflict continues in Cameroon. Twenty-four civilians were killed and around 60 injured on Sunday by armed separatists in the English-speaking south-west of Cameroon, the mayor of the locality of Obonyi II told AFP on Tuesday.
Separatists “attacked the village of Obonyi II with firearms on Sunday”, 560 km northwest of Yaoundé, near the border with Nigeria, said Mayor Ekwalle Martin. According to him, “the separatists wanted the inhabitants to pay them money every month, they refused and that is why they attacked”.
The toll is 24 dead and at least 62 injured. The attack was confirmed by a member of the local administration, who requested anonymity, and who mentioned at least 15 civilians killed.
A senator who was held hostage has been released
A few hours earlier, the army had announced that it had released several hostages, including Elizabeth Regina Mundi, a senator from the presidential party, kidnapped a month ago by English-speaking independence rebels. And the soldiers claim to have killed a dozen kidnappers in the rescue operation.
A military detachment was attempting an approach to the lair when “heavily armed terrorists opened heavy fire (…) while their comrades tried to escape with the hostages”, explained the army. “A dozen terrorists have been neutralized”, according to the terminology of the authorities to evoke independence activists who have been killed. Nothing has filtered on the number or the identity of the other “released” hostages.
Many deaths since 2017
The North-West and South-West are populated mainly by Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, some of whom feel ostracized by the French-speaking majority of this country ruled with an iron fist for nearly 40 years by President Paul Biya. , 89 years old. Since 2017, separatist groups and the army have clashed in a bloody conflict in which civilians are often the victims.
Armed separatists, such as soldiers and police, are regularly accused by the UN and international NGOs of committing crimes and atrocities against civilians, the main victims of the conflict.