Yaoundé – Thirty-three seminarians kidnapped by armed men in Cameroon’s troubled anglophone southwest have been freed, the National Conference of Bishops told AFP on Saturday.
“The 33 seminarians, kidnapped on Thursday by armed men who took them to the bush near Mamfe, were freed unharmed on Friday without any ransom being paid,” said Father Humphrey Tatah Mbuy, spokesperson for the National Conference of Bishops of Cameroon.
“We don’t know who is behind this kidnapping, if they are the Amba Boys,” he said, referring to the Ambazonia republic which the rebels would like to proclaim after independence.
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The northwest and southwest are populated mainly by the anglophone minority in Cameroon, a predominantly French-speaking country ruled with an iron fist for nearly 40 years by 89-year-old President Paul Biya.
In the past five years, after the repression of peaceful demonstrations accusing Yaounde of ostracising English speakers, armed separatists and the military have clashed repeatedly.
The deadly conflict has killed more than 6 000 people and displaced around a million, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank.
Civilians have suffered abuses committed by both sides, according to international NGOs and the UN.
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Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said on Tuesday it was suspending humanitarian activities in the southwestern region because of the detention of four local employees accused of “complicity” with rebels.
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Source: AFP
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