Cameroonian army frees several hostages, senator in northwest Cameroon

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - The Cameroonian army announced Tuesday the release of several hostages kidnapped a month ago by suspected terrorists, including a ruling party senator.

Senator Elizabeth Regina Mundi, kidnapped on April 30 in Bamenda in the Northwest region, was released along with other hostages on Monday in a successful operation by defense and security forces on separatist hideouts in Ashong in the northwest Momo region, according to state television.

The liberation operation launched on Sunday morning led to fighting between "heavily armed terrorists" on Monday night, said a Defense Ministry statement by Capt. Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo.

He said three terrorists were captured and several hostages freed, including the senator, a dozen terrorists neutralized, and several other wounded fugitives, weapons, and vehicles recovered.

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have majority-English-speaking populations in the bilingual country.

The Anglophone minority feels marginalized and has pressed for federalism or separatism.

The conflict has escalated into violence in the English-speaking area, resulting in 3,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 730,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.

"The government and the separatists are pursuing a military strategy, in part because of the government's reluctance to engage in inclusive talks with these Anglophone groups,” said Arrey Elvis Ntui, a senior Cameroonian expert with the International Crisis Group NGO.

“What is sorely lacking is a mediation effort that can reduce the mistrust between the parties and bring them to the negotiating table," he told Anadolu Agency.

The complexity of the crisis stems "in part from the sides fighting each other" while "the international community is making little effort to get them to discuss a political solution," he said.

But "the major problem is the lack of political will to hold talks, despite prolonged conflict and suffering," he said.