Ambazonia fighters are said to have killed four people at Pamol Plantations’ Lobe Estate in the Ndian Division of the South West Region of Cameroon.
It was during an attack on Sunday, September 17, 2023, MMI has learned.
Pamol’s management confirmed the attack and blamed it on “unknown armed men” in a release published on September 18 and signed by its General Manager, Mbile Tapea Solomon.
PAMOL’s release stated that the armed men stormed Pamol’s Lobe Estate Camps I and VI and shot dead four people on Sunday.
Among them are Foin Ernest, a heavy-duty mechanic, and his son, Foin Marcel; Tiah Rita and Sakwe Olga, wives of a Lobe Mill worker, and a retired Research employee.
Pamol’s release also added that “the motive behind this attack and killings remains unknown to Pamol Management.”
Separatists Claim Responsibility
According to reports, “FM Focus” and other Ambazonian separatist fighters were behind the attack.
In a video posted on the separatists’ propaganda site on Facebook this morning, the self-proclaimed “FM Focus” could be seen warning civilians to evacuate the Lobe Estate of Pamol. In the video that was apparently shot at night, he said the date was September 17, 2023, and that they wanted to turn the Pamol Estate into a camp.
He said that the attack was “just a sample” and that it followed Pamol’s refusal to evacuate the estate for him and his fighters.
The company urged its entire workforce to remain resolute and steadfast during the tough times currently faced by the company.
“… While hoping the Administration and forces of law and order would take necessary measures to improve the security situation within the Lobe Estate and its environs,” concluded the release.
The attack on Pamol comes shortly after a series of attacks perpetrated by separatist fighters in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon during the last two weeks to disrupt school resumption. These attacks claimed at least eight civilian lives.
Following the escalation of the Anglophone crisis into an armed conflict, PAMOL, like several other state-owned establishments in the troubled regions, has had a hard time carrying out its operations.
