Nearly 80 Children Kidnapped in Cameroon’s English-Speaking Separatist Region

Always the children paying the price for man's madness

Anti-government protesters in Bamenda © Reuters

Dozens of people, most of them children, have been kidnapped from a school in the city of Bamenda in Cameroon’s northwestern Anglophone region, which is struggling with a separatist insurgency.

Armed men kidnapped 78 students from a Presbyterian school in the Nkwen village, Northwest Region Governor Deben Tchoffo said.

A video uploaded to social media showed the kidnapped children and the alleged kidnappers, calling themselves “Amba boys” in reference to the breakaway Ambazonia state that the separatists have been trying to create. The footage could not be immediately verified, but parents have reportedly been reacting to images of their children on social media, according to AP.

Earlier, a military source told Reuters that the school principal has been kidnapped along with the students.

“In total, 81 people were kidnapped including the principal. They were taken to the bush,” the source said.

The separatists, who are protesting against President Paul Biya’s French-speaking government, have imposed strict curfews, shuttered schools, and killed government soldiers and policemen in guerilla raids.

The conflict between the insurgents and government security forces intensified last year after a government crackdown on peaceful protesters. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people, with many fleeing Bamenda for the calmer Francophone regions.

In July, a video showing government soldiers shooting women and children sparked outrage and accusations that the Cameroon government – a close ally of the US in Africa – was carrying out arbitrary executions of anyone believed to be supporting the Boko Haram terrorist group.

In an October presidential election, opposition candidate Maurice Kamto declared victory against Biya, who has ruled since 1982, but Biya’s ruling party dismissed claims of defeat and accused Kamto of breaking the law. Reuters reported that the opposing candidate did not provide evidence to back up claims that he won.

A government spokesperson said it was keeping track of developments surrounding the kidnapping, but provided no other details.

Cameroon is about 70% Christian and about 18% Muslim with a number of people practicing traditional religions. Cameroon has Nigeria on one side, Central African Republic and Congo on the other side, all of which are war-torn countries.

Muslim Militants Go Door to Door Killing Christians

The attacks come as Boko Haram kills eight at a church and a boat captain starts trial for throwing Christian refugees overboard.

Illustrative picture of Boko Haram victims. (Photo: © Reuters)

Central African Republic

Three horrific incidents in three different countries highlight the global persecution of Christians by Muslim supremacists.

A mob of Muslim militants descended on Ndomete village in the Central African Republic (CAR) and went door-to-door killing Christians. The U.N. confirmed the casualty figures.

The militiamen, believed to belong to the Muslim militia group Seleka, killed 26 people and is thought to have deliberately targeted civilians. Seleka deposed then president Francois Bozize in 2013 and installed the Muslim Michel Djotodia instead.

Faced with mounting sectarian violence, Djotodia resigned in January 2014.

Although the Seleka group was officially disbanded, the group did not put down its weapons. Ex-Seleka fighters and Christian so-called “anti-Balaka” militias have been fighting since, displacing some 25 percent of CAR’s population.

“If the government is not going to beef up the security, then we are going to defend ourselves,” a local Christian leader told Morningstar News. “We shall not keep quiet as our brothers are dying.”

Nigeria 

In Nigeria Boko Haram militants attacked Christians in Kwamjilari village after a church service on Sunday. Gunmen reportedly killed 8 people who congregated outside the church in north-eastern Borno State.

Villagers reported Boko Haram stationed gunmen on the road leading away from the church so they could shoot those trying to flee.

Spain

In Spain an immigrant from Cameroon went on trial for the murder of six other immigrants whom he is accused of throwing overboard while crossing the Mediterranean in his boat. The boat captain, identified as Alain N. reportedly blamed the rough seas which were rocking the boat on the prayers led by a Catholic pastor on board and consequently threw them overboard. Another man who helped him throw them overboard later died.

The pair, both from Cameroon, reportedly beat the Nigerian pastor with pieces of wood before throwing him overboard. They then searched the other passengers for amulets or other identifying signs of Christianity and similarly beat and hurled overboard five other people.

Alain N. “was aware that the victims could not possibly survive and that they would die, either by drowning, from the cold, or from the physical injuries they had suffered,” according to statements made by the prosecution. “He was aware of the low temperature, the rough seas and the great distance from the coast and the absence of any nearby boats which could rescue them.”