Soldiers in Cameroon have rescued nine school children and a teacher kidnapped by gunmen. They were kidnapped on Tuesday from school in Cameroon’s Kumba town in the South-West Region.
Security forces reportedly clashed with the abductors who are separatists fighting for independence in the restive English-speaking part of Cameroon.
Officials said the number of children kidnapped was nine not the over 20 figure earlier reported by the local media.
The soldiers carried out a raid on Wednesday to rescue the children. BBC reports that four attackers were shot dead in the operation.
According to a senior official, one of the kidnappers was captured.
Nto’ou Ndong Chamberlin from the Meme district, in the South-West region, told the BBC that three students were released on Tuesday night.
During that rescue operation two gunmen were shot dead in a shootout with security forces who raided their camp.
He said the seven remaining hostages, including the teacher, escaped during clashes between the gunmen and security forces.
Tuesday’s abduction came weeks after some 81 students in the restive northwest region were also kidnapped by gunmen.
Those students were released from captivity days ago by the group called the Amba boys.
Agitations continue to grow in Anglophone Cameroon where separatists are fighting for independence. That has come with a lot of violence.
These separatists complain about marginalization and discrimination from the majority French-speaking side of Cameroon.
Source: Africafeeds.com
