YAOUNDE, Sept. 4– At least five separatist fighters were killed in renewed clashes in Cameroon’s conflict-hit Anglophone Northwest Region, local and security sources said early Friday.
Three fighters were killed Thursday in the Bambui locality and two others in Sop the same day, a security official in the region said. The official, who requested anonymity, said government forces confronted the fighters at their checkpoints.
“Our forces engaged the separatists at their regular checkpoints in Bambui and Sop. During the clashes, five of them were killed and many others escaped with serious injuries,” the official told Xinhua by phone, adding that no government soldiers were killed.
The official said the fighters had been carrying out kidnappings for ransom targeting civilians. The clashes come amid renewed tensions in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions after separatist leaders announced a weeklong lockdown from Sept. 7 to disrupt the start of the new academic year.
The army has deployed additional troops to secure schools and students, with residents telling Xinhua that troops and armored vehicles are now patrolling day and night.
Fighting between separatists and government forces has been ongoing since 2017, when separatists began seeking to create an independent state in the two Anglophone regions. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
