At least 15 people are reported dead following a clash between soldiers and separatists pushing for independence in Anglophone Cameroon.
The clash occurred on Saturday with army officials and separatists all confirming high number of deaths on both sides.
This is coming days after President Paul Biya was sworn in for a seventh term as leader of the country.
An army representative Didier Badjeck is reported by Reuters to have said that 23 separatists were killed in clashes with government troops on Saturday.
The clash occurred near the town of Nkambe in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest region. The army spokesperson also said another six separatists were killed in nearby Ndu.
A spokesman for one of the Anglophone secessionist militias, Ivo Tapang has confirmed to Reuters that fighting took place in Nkambe.
Tapang however said a government army truck near Nkambe was overturned by a roadside bomb on Saturday.
“Two of our fighters were killed and we killed 13 of them,” he said
Separatists in Anglophone Cameroon have been fighting government forces for months now as they push for independence from Cameroon.
Thousands of civilians have been caught up in the cross fire. That has resulted in casualties with some 200,000 people fleeing their homes.
Many of them have fled into Nigeria as refugees due to the conflict.
Anglophones in Cameroon make up about a fifth of the country’s population of 22 million. But they complain of marginalisation in the hands of the French-speaking majority.
Source: Africafeeds.com
