Map of Cameroon
Fresh violence has rocked Cameroon’s restive Anglophone Northwest region, leaving at least eight people dead and several others injured following deadly communal clashes, security sources confirmed on Saturday.
The bloodshed began in the early hours of Friday when gunmen suspected to be armed separatist fighters reportedly stormed a Mbororo community, killing three people. A security source in the region said the attack triggered fear and tension among residents.
By nightfall into Saturday, the violence took a retaliatory turn. Armed Mbororo youths allegedly launched an attack on Wowo village, home to the Wimbum tribe, resulting in the deaths of five people.
Explaining what happened, Festus Njeba, a prominent leader of the Wimbum tribe, said the attackers acted on suspicion rather than facts.
“The Mbororo people assumed that people who attacked them were from Wowo village and invaded the village at night,” Njeba told Xinhua by phone.
He said the assailants went from house to house, focusing on key areas within the community.
“They searched house to house, especially in the palace, shooting people who resisted. Five people were killed, all of them men,” he said.
Njeba expressed deep sorrow over the killings and warned against civilians being drawn into a conflict they did not create.
“Our people are in pain. These killings have to stop. Our people must not bear the consequences of an armed struggle,” he added.
The Northwest region has remained volatile amid ongoing separatist tensions, with communal violence compounding the humanitarian and security challenges faced by residents. Authorities are yet to announce arrests as investigations continue.
