Simon Emile Mooh, the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Mezam in the North West region, has confirmed that one person was killed and six others, including a baby, were injured in a bomb blast at the Nkwen market in Bamenda on Thursday, September 19, 2024.
The SDO attributed the attack to what he referred to as terrorists.
In a press release obtained by MMI, Mooh detailed that the victims were shopping at the market when the locally made explosive device went off.
“On Thursday, September 19, 2024, around 11:00 a.m., a group of armed terrorists, who had taken refuge around the Nkwen market in Bamenda III Sub-Division, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device, killing one person, Ms. Chung Juliet, a 30-year-old lady, and wounding six (06) other civilians, amongst whom was an eleven-month-old baby,” the statement read.
Mooh extended condolences to the family of the deceased and reassured the public that the government is covering the medical expenses of those injured.
“In these painful circumstances, the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, on behalf of the Government, expresses his heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family while extending his compassion as well as wishes of swift recovery to the wounded, whose medical bills are all being footed, as usual, by the Government,” the release added.
Armed separatist militants fighting for an independent Ambazonia state in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions, whom the government refers to as terrorists, have increasingly used locally made explosives in their campaign. Civilian homes and markets have often been targeted, and this is not the first time an explosion has occurred at Nkwen market.
The Mezam SDO condemned the attack, calling it a “barbaric act on unarmed civilians.” He urged calm, assuring the public that “the Defense and Security Forces are on the ground to track down and hand the authors of this heinous act to the competent Judicial Authorities.”
Mooh also appealed for cooperation between the local population and the authorities to help identify and apprehend those responsible, describing them as “bands of lawless and heartless criminals who constitute a major threat to social peace and tranquility in the Division.”
At the time of this report, no separatist group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
