Separatists kill 2 soldiers in northwestern Cameroon

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - Two soldiers were killed in separate ambushes on military vehicles by armed separatists in northeastern Cameroon on Wednesday, a senior official confirmed.

Abdoulillahi Aliou, senior divisional officer in the Menchum department, told local media that soldiers were carrying the body of one of their colleagues killed a few hours earlier when they were ambushed on the route between Bamenda and Wum, the country's third largest city.

Following the first ambush, "secessionist armed gangs" ambushed a military convoy in the same area near Wum, according to the official.

These simultaneous attacks come weeks after separatists killed a dozen soldiers, according to local authorities.

The English-speaking region of the North and South West has been in the grip of a separatist crisis since 2016.

The English-speaking minority in the multilingual Central African country accounts for 20% of the 26 million people. They believed they were being sidelined by the Cameroonian government and the French-speaking majority.

They want the English-speaking part of the country to be independent or return to federalism.

This unresolved crisis has turned into a crime theatre, with military forces stationed in the north and southwest regions of the country fighting armed separatists.

Several crimes against humanity such as murder, rape, and abduction have also been documented by human rights organizations.

"The violence committed by both the security forces and armed separatists in the northwest and southwest regions has caused a major humanitarian crisis in Cameroon," said Human Rights Watch (HRW).