Separatist rebels had on Monday, November 6, killed about 20 persons, women and children included, during an attack on a village in one of Cameroon’s riotous anglophone regions, according to the government.
The overnight ambush had occurred at Egbekaw village, situated in western Cameroon, an area known for its deadly clashes between rebels and government forces for seven years.
Cameroon’s major English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions have been afflicted by conflict since separatists announced their independence in 2017.
That followed decades of grievances over perceived discrimination by the francophone majority.
President Paul Biya, aged 90, who has ruled the central African nation with an iron fist for 41 years to the day, has opposed calls for and extensive autonomy and had responded with a crackdown.
The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and had forced over a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group.
Both the separatists and official forces have been accused of abuses and abominations during the fighting.
There had been no claim of responsibility over the attack on Egbekaw as at the time of filing this report on Monday evening.
Last month, rebels “instantly executed” two villagers in public in the Northwest region whom had been accused of partnering with the army.
Back in July, Amnesty International reported that security personnel, separatist rebels and ethnic militiamen had committed “severe abuses” in the Northwest Region, including executing, torturing and raping their victims.
