Cameroon: police officer killed and five teachers abducted in Wum

A police officer was killed and five teachers were abducted on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in Wum, located in the English-speaking North-West region of Cameroon, during an attack on a teacher training center, Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique announced on Wednesday. Security forces have launched a search to locate the hostages and the assailants.

The attack targeted the Government Technical Teachers’ Training College (GTTC) in Wum, approximately 80 kilometers north of Bamenda. According to the governor, a group of armed men entered the institution in the morning. A police officer attempting to intervene was fatally shot before the assailants took the teachers to an unknown location.

Cameroonian media identified the slain officer as Commissioner Mbah Tobie Damase. The number of abducted teachers varied in the initial hours: security sources cited by Xinhua reported six teachers captured, while the North-West governor later confirmed the figure as five.

The incident occurred on the eve of the 2026-2027 school year, amid heightened tensions surrounding the resumption of classes in the English-speaking regions. Separatist leaders had called for a disruption of activities to hinder the school reopening, according to several local and international media outlets.

A tense school reopening in the English-speaking regions

The North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon have been embroiled in an armed conflict since 2017 between government forces and separatist groups demanding the establishment of an independent state called Ambazonia. The crisis originated from protests in 2016 by English-speaking lawyers and teachers who denounced the marginalization of English in the judicial and educational systems.

Schools, teachers, and state agents have regularly been targeted during the conflict, particularly during school boycott campaigns and lockdowns imposed by armed groups. Authorities have, in turn, strengthened security measures around certain institutions to maintain classes in affected areas.

According to figures from the United Nations reported by AFP, the conflict has resulted in at least 6,000 deaths since 2016. It has also caused significant population displacements within Cameroon and into neighboring Nigeria.

As of Wednesday, September 9, no public claim of responsibility for the Wum attack had been reported. The North-West governor stated that security forces were pursuing the perpetrators of the assault and searching for the five abducted teachers.