Cameroon separatists launch deadly attack outside Anglophone zone

Nine lives were lost over the weekend in western Cameroon in a bomb attack attributed to English-speaking separatists. The deceased comprised five members of the security forces and four civilians.

According to a government statement, about fifty “heavily armed secessionists” attacked a security and police station in Galim, in the West Province, the majority of whom were French-speaking. Fifty houses were also burnt down.

In addition, separatists detonated a homemade device that created panic in the English-speaking city of Bamenda, in the north-west of the country, to disrupt the activities of International Women’s Day.

One person was killed and seven others were injured. English-speaking rebels in Cameroon have been fighting since 2017 to create an independent Anglophone state in most of the western regions of the Francophone country.

According to the UN, the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people and forced half a million people to flee to French-speaking regions of Cameroon or to neighboring Nigeria.