Soldier killed in anglophone Cameroon

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA) – A Cameroonian soldier was killed on Sunday allegedly by anglophone activists in the country’s South West Region, an administrative official told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

"On Sunday, I was notified of the death of a chief warrant officer, a member of the elite corps, the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR)," Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the South West Region said. "He was kidnapped in the town of Ekondo-Titi [...] which shares borders with Nigeria."

"The attackers cut off his head, arm and leg. It is very horrible to treat a human being like that," Bilai added.

The new assassination brings to 18 the number of soldiers that have been killed since October 2017.

Cameroon has been marred by protests since October 2016, with residents in English-speaking regions (North West and South West) saying they have been marginalized for decades by the central government and the French-speaking majority.

Violence has left dozens of protesters dead and over 100 injured on Oct. 1 after tens of thousands of people began a peaceful march to proclaim the independence of the region, which the protesters call the Republic of Ambazonia, according to the International Crisis Group (IGC).

At least 40,000 have fled and crossed into neighboring Nigeria, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

French Cameroon gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1961, a federal state was set up when British Cameroon gained its independence from Great Britain and joined French Cameroon.

The federal state was however dissolved in favor of a unitary state in 1972. The separatists are calling for a return to federalism.