Separatist fighters kill Gendarmerie commander, five officers in ambush

Ambazonian separatist fighters are reported to have ambushed and killed a Gendarmerie brigade commander and five officers in Eyumojock, Manyu Division of the South West Region.

The attack occurred on the morning of Friday, May 10, along the Eyumojock–Ekok axis of the Bamenda-Mamfe-Enugu road.

The incident is the deadliest blow in recent months to the Cameroon military, which has been battling against separatist fighters in the North West and South West for nearly seven years now.

Reports say a Gendarme officer managed to escape with injuries during the ambush, while the commander and five others were killed and their bodies set on fire.

A video released online shows a number of armed separatists bragging in front of a burning vehicle on the tarred road.

The also displayed guns, military helmets, bullet proof vests and military uniforms taken from the killed gendarmes.

While no official information has yet been released on the attack, reports say the officers were tricked into their doom.

An informant supposedly working for the separatists had told the commander that separatists were operating on the stretch of road that morning.

Acting on the alert, he mobilized six elements who accompanied him to the area, approximately five kilometers from the Divisional headquarters Mamfe.

It was then that the separatists, who had taken cover, opened fire killing six out of the seven soldiers.

The attack comes in the wake of numerous operations in which the Cameroon Military has dislodged hideouts of prominent separatist fighters.

One of the separatist militia men killed in recent months is the self-styled General Sagon, whose body was displayed in Ndop, North West, on Monday.

Both the Cameroon military and the separatists rely strongly on informants who feed them with information about each party’s activities.

Both parties are also accused of summarily executing people suspected of spying for the other parties.

©Mimi Mefo Info