North West: Separatist fighters kill four mourners in Finge Village

Four lives have been lost in Finge, a village close to the town of Bambui in Tubah Subdivision, Cameroon’s troubled North West region.

The four were victims of a series of exchanges between separatist fighters and locals.

The separatist fighters, we gathered, invaded the village during a burial: “Amba boys from neighboring Bambui village invaded a burial in Finge village at about 6pm on Friday 21 January 2022 and asked for money which was not given,” recounts a witness.

The fighters, the witness went on, “… started molesting the people and seizing phones and ID cards”.

The local population is said to have mobilised and caught one of the boys, ridding him of the bullets and many ID cards he was in possession of.

“Unknown to the population, those who escaped went and called for backup from their amba colleagues who invaded the village and started shooting indiscriminately. This led to the dead of three people including a Queen Mother of Finge village,” our source recounts.

Eight persons, the source added, were seriously wounded, and some houses burned to ashes.

Prior to this incident, locals say, there were no separatist fighters in the village as they had been eradicated by the forces of law and order.

The death toll is believed to have since risen to four as the situation deteriorates.