Separatist fighters kill Gendarmerie commander, officer in Akwaya

Separatist fighters are reported to have killed a Gendarmerie Brigade Commander and an officer in Akwaya, a district in Manyu Division, South West.

They reportedly launched an attack on the paramilitary officers on Thursday night, barely a week after another separatist group ambushed and killed a Brigade Commander and four Gendarmes in neighbouring Eyumojock, still in Manyu.

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Nine Cameronian soldiers have thus far been killed in the English-speaking Regions in the last one week, as another separatist attack in Bambui, on Tuesday night, claimed the lives of two soldiers and three civilians.

There has been no official statement from authorities in the South West following the recent attack in Akwaya.

Manyu, which is one of six Divisions in the South West, is known to harbor several separatist groups across its vast forests, which border the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Akwaya, where the Gendarmes were killed, is an enclaved Subdivision in Manyu, with no access roads and social amenities.

Transportation to the area is either by air, through an helicopter, or on land through Nigeria. This enclavement has made Akwaya a hotspot of separatist militia, which are profiting from the area’s isolation.

Despite claims by government officials about peace returning to the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, almost seven years into the armed conflict, Manyu continues to be a hotbed for separatists who are seeking independence.

The Divisional headquarters, Mamfe, has borne the brunt of the ongoing armed conflict, suffering several attacks from separatist.

Separatists killed the town’s Mayor, Ashu Prisley Ojong in 2020, burnt the Mamfe District Hospital in 2022 and killed nearly 30 civilians at Egbekaw neighborhood in November 2023.

While there have been reports of relative calm returning to some areas of the Anglophone Regions, normalcy remains far-fetched, as separatist–military attacks continue to claim lives.

©Mimi Mefo Info