Fear Grips Bambili After Gunfire, Mass Kidnappings at Mile 10

By Zera Nambu

Residents of Bambili are reeling from a night of terror following intense gunfire and the mass kidnapping of students and other inhabitants at Mile 10.

The incident has increased fears over rising insecurity in the region that has battled with an armed separatist conflict for nine years.

Sources close to the victims suggest the attack was well planned, rather than random abductions. Compounding the crisis, there are allegations that some residents are now employing separatist fighters to settle personal disputes.

A former hostage, taken on Saturday evening and released this Monday morning after paying a ransom of 500,000 francs CFA, described his ordeal as harrowing. “The area is dangerous, with young fighters and a variety of guns,” he recounted. “Food is available, but torture is severe for those who resist.”

He detailed the disorientation of his captivity: “I don’t even know where we were taken. They masked us going in and coming out.”

Separatist fighters continue to intensify their attacks and kidnappings, demanding huge ransoms from already struggling parents, thereby worsening the situation.

The growing insecurity has been constraining education in parts of the North West, including in Bambili, where some lecturers of the University of Bamenda are reported to have canceled some classes scheduled for Tuesday due to insecurity.