Armed anglophone separatists early Tuesday killed nine villagers in western Cameroon, the scene of seven years of unrest, officials said.

Cameroon’s primarily English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions have been gripped by conflict since separatists declared independence in 2017.

That followed decades of grievances over perceived discrimination by the country’s francophone majority.

“There are nine dead,” David Dibango, local prefect for the West Region department of Bamboutos, told local radio after the raid on the village of Bamenyam.

The West region borders the restive Northwest.

A police officer confirmed the toll to AFP and blamed “secessionists” who he said had “entered the village on motorcycles the night before”.

“They circulated a message asking the population to remain indoors the following day but those who were not aware of the warning and ventured out became the victims of secessionists,” he added.

Cameroon’s state television said the dead included a woman, adding that two security guards were wounded in a gunbattle. It said the attackers torched several shops.

A local association, the Development Committee of Bamenyam, said three shopkeepers, including an octogenarian, were killed.

Both the separatists and government forces have been accused of atrocities in the fighting.

Armed groups are regularly accused of abducting, killing or injuring civilians whom they accuse of collaborating with Cameroonian authorities.

Security forces are also often accused by international NGOs and the United Nations of killings and torture against civilians suspected of sympathising with the rebels.

In July, Amnesty International reported that security forces, separatist rebels and ethnic militiamen had committed “atrocities” in the Northwest Region, including executions, torture and rape.

President Paul Biya, 90, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist for 41 years, has resisted calls for wider autonomy and responded with a crackdown.

The conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group.

Source: AFP

Professor Carlson Anyangwe has said that the French Cameroun military is openly attacking health centers and academic establishments in Southern Cameroons under pathetic excuses, stressing that recent assaults on Egbekaw in Mamfe the chief town in Manyu Division reflect the Francophone spirit of vengeance.

Anyangwe told Cameroon Intelligence Report that a number of French Cameroun officials have said that all this carnage and barbaric actions being carried out in Southern Cameroons by Francophone army soldiers have one main objective, which is subjugation.

The much respected Southern Cameroons academic pointed out that the 90-year-old French Cameroun dictator and his gang are trying to say that the cost of demanding Ambazonia right as an independent nation is very high.

Anyangwe furthered that the French Cameroun military considers every home and every family in Southern Cameroons to be a legitimate target.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Ngaoundéré notables have written to Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute calling on the Head of Government to dismiss the Lamido of Ngaoundéré from his royal duties following several rape allegations and adultery including sleeping with minors.

The royals also stated in their letter dated November 9, 2023 and signed by Ibrahima Saidou, on behalf of all the members of the Royal Court that failure to act against Mohamadou Hayatou Issa, the Lamido of Ngaoundéré will allow the traditional ruler to continue to offend and to victimise young girls.

The Lamidat of Ngaoundéré is one of the most important of the three northern regions. Located in the heart of the capital of the Adamaoua Region, it was founded in 1839 by Chief Ndjobdi of Foulbé. The reigning Lamido was elected from among the members of the ruling family. He is the 18th Lamido in the dynasty and has been in office since 1997.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that there are up to 35 minors who have been subject to a range of offences including multiple rapes by Lamido Mohamadou Hayatou Issa.

According to our chief correspondent in Ngaoundéré, the Lamido’s reckless actions have been ongoing ever since he ascended the throne.

The Prime Minister’s office recently admitted that Dr Dion Ngute is facing growing pressure to launch an investigation into the matter.

A prominent Muslim scholar contacted by this reporter who sued for anonymity, said it was of utmost importance that the deeply concerning and extremely serious allegations against the Lamido were thoroughly investigated by the Government.

“The allegations in the letter from the notables are deeply disturbing to read. Nobody is above the law” he stated.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files