Three civilians killed as separatist violence escalates in Cameroon
Four people, including three civilians and a separatist fighter, have been killed amid renewed violence in Cameroon’s restive Anglophone region, security sources said Sunday.
A security official in the Southwest Region told Xinhua that separatist fighters opened fire on a vehicle traveling along a highway in Ekona on Saturday, killing the driver and two passengers, Xinhua reported.
“They were driving to a town called Kumba when the separatist terrorists killed them. The terrorists said they disrespected a lockdown order,” the official said by phone.
Government forces launched a pursuit of the separatist fighters following the shooting. The operation led to an armed clash in which one separatist fighter was killed and several others were wounded, according to the official.
Fighting has intensified in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions since Monday, after separatist groups imposed a week-long lockdown aimed at disrupting the reopening of schools.
Separatist groups have been engaged in clashes with government forces since 2017 as they seek to establish an independent state in the two regions.
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