Ambazonia separatist fighters, also called Amba Boys, have burnt three motorcycles in Ngie, Momo Division of the restive North West Region.
They accused the riders of violating their imposed Monday lockdown observed weekly in most part of the Anglophone regions, before setting the bikes ablaze on Monday, July 15.
A separatist faction called the Ambazonia State Army claimed responsibility for the act.
“This is General Danger of Ambazonia State Army and his squad; we are in Ngie. Here are the blacklegs working on Monday,” said a voice in a video that circulated on social media.
The speaker threatened to shoot the bike riders.
“We will show them that Monday is for them to stay at home and not working. This will serve as an example to others,” the speaker furthered.
Monday ghost towns have persisted in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions since 2017. It began as a civil disobedience tactic by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, which sought to force the government to address the plight of Anglophones. Since separatists hijacked the movement and changed the objectives to a quest for independence, many of the local population disconnected and would not obey the ghost towns and school boycotts. They have since resorted to using force to ensure compliance.
Armed Amba boys have often used brute force to target civilians who violate ghost towns, but there is at the moment, no clear indication that the policy has any direct impact on the government of Cameroon.
Many transporters have seen their vehicles and motorcycles burned by the fighters in the course of enforcing the imposed weekly lockdown.
