By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info (Editor)
Published on 2024-02-01 10:15:13
Eyewitnesses of the violent Separatist attack in Buea, which resulted in the death of a man and the burning of four cars on Monday, January 29, 2024, have given details of the disturbing events.
The attack took place around 8:30 pm near the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral in Molyko, along the Buea Central Market Road.
According to eyewitnesses, the attackers, numbering about seven and heavily armed, were dressed in police attire and began stopping vehicles on the road under the guise of regular police checks. When most vehicles hesitated to stop, they opened fire.
One witness described the attackers as dressed like police officers, making it difficult to differentiate them from the actual police. They observed the gunmen stopping passing taxis and trying to stop vehicles, and when vehicles did not comply, shots were fired. The witness then saw four burnt vehicles and one man killed as a result of the attack.
Another eyewitness, who took cover near the site of the incident, confirmed that the attackers were heavily armed with automatic rifles and a machine gun. He also witnessed the attackers dressed in police attire and numbered about seven.
In a viral video post-attack, the gunmen claimed to be the “Mountain Lions of Fako,” a separatist armed group controlled by a self-proclaimed “General Sagat.” This same group was responsible for a previous attack in Muea in September 2023, which resulted in three deaths and two burnt taxis.
The attackers claimed that their main reason for the attack was to force people to respect the “ghost towns” instituted by separatists in 2017 as a form of civil disobedience.
The only known casualty of the attack was Musonge Derick, whose body was brought to the Buea Regional Hospital. Derick was the cousin of former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge and had already lost his wife, Becky Jeme Iyabo, in a previous separatist attack.
The police reported that one other person, Ejeh John Wonumu, was seriously injured in the attack. Two unidentified women were also reportedly abducted by the separatists, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The Ministry of Communication in Cameroon condemned the attack, along with another incident that occurred in Ndu, North West, in the days prior to the Buea attack.
These attacks mark a resurgence of violence after a period of relative calm in the North West and South West Regions, which have been plagued by conflict for nearly seven years.
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
