Yaounde – A Catholic priest has been kidnapped in an anglophone region of Cameroon, the hostage’s diocese said on Monday.
Julius Agbortoko, head of the Mamfe diocese, was snatched on Sunday by “youths who identified themselves as separatist fighters”, a statement said.
The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of more than 20 million CFA francs ($36 000), it said.
More than 3,500 people have been killed and over 700,000 have fled their homes to escape the conflict that erupted in 2017 in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions in the west of the former French colony.
Armed rebels have carried out multiple kidnappings, including of church figures, since the start of the conflict.
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The hostages are usually released fairly quickly after the payment of a ransom or following negotiations, but some have been executed.
The statement denounced “incessant attacks against the Church in general and that of Mamfe in particular”.
Last week a worshipper was shot dead and a pastor was wounded during a mass in the town of Bali, in the Northwest region.
Anglophone separatists in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have long complained of being marginalised in the predominantly French-speaking country.
International humanitarian groups have accused both separatists and soldiers of committing crimes against civilians.
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Picture: Getty Images
Source: AFP
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