Bamenda: No casualties reported in Separatist bomb blast

The residents of Nkwen, in Bamenda, were thrown into panic after a blast from a locally made bomb at Mile 2 Junction this Monday morning.

Residents said they woke up to a loud explosion that quaked the neighborhood, leaving them trembling.

Monday is regularly observed as a ghost town day in the restive region where separatist militants have been fighting against the State of Cameroon to create a new country they call Ambazonia.

“I was outside with my children doing house chores when we suddenly heard a frightening blast and escaped into the house,” a resident of Mile 2, Nkwen, told MMI.

“No life was lost, as well as no material damage,” another resident said.

Ayaba Cho Lucas, a diaspora-based Separatist leader, has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was directed against government forces.

“Enemy target struck at mile 2 Nkwen,” said Cho, who leads an armed Separatist militia called Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF).

“Two other surgical ops were undertaken this morning in Bamenda,” he added without further details.

Public authorities had not reacted to the bomb blast at the time of this report.

Locally made bombs have been a common tactic used by separatists in the seven-year armed conflict in Cameroons English-speaking regions.

Civilians have also been victims of these blasts, which Separatists often use to target military personnel and disrupt public ceremonies.

In February last year, three separatist bomb attacks killed a woman and injured several persons, including athletes, at the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope in Buea, South West Region.

Another major explosion in February this year killed a student and injured more than 70 people in Nkambe, North West Region, during Youth Day celebrations.

The planting of locally made bombs in civilian abodes have hitherto been condemned by human rights groups, which have called on separatists to stop raining terror on civilians.

©Mimi Mefo Info