At least 22 people
have been killed in an attack on a village in north-west Cameroon, the UN says.
Over half those killed
in Ntumbo were children, and local media report that several victims were
burned alive.
No-one has claimed
responsibility for Friday’s incident, but an opposition party blamed the army.
Cameroon’s government,
which has been fighting separatists in the region for three years, denied
involvement in the attack.
James Nunan, an
official from the UN’s humanitarian co-ordination agency Ocha, told the BBC
that a pregnant woman was among those killed.
Fourteen children,
including nine under the age of five, were also among the dead, he said.
Mr Nunan said the
incident has “terrified” the local population.
“Whichever group
has done this has threatened that there will be more violence ahead,” he
said. “The people we’ve spoken with are extremely traumatised and didn’t
expect this.”
In a statement, one of
the country’s main opposition parties – The Movement for the Rebirth of
Cameroon – blamed “the dictatorial regime” and the head of Cameroon’s
security forces for the attack.
Agbor Mballa, a
leading figure in the separatist movement, also suggested that “state
defence forces were responsible”.
An army official
described the allegations as “false” when asked about the incident by
AFP news agency.
Cameroon’s President
Biya has been accused of human rights abuses during the conflict
The conflict has been
centred in north-western Cameroon, where most of the population speaks English
because of old colonial ties to Britain.
Armed separatist
groups began to emerge in 2017 after a security force crackdown on protests.
Separatists have declared independence for a new state they call Ambazonia, but
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has labelled the groups as
“terrorists”.
More than 3,000 people
have died since the outbreak of fighting and at least 70,000 people have also
been displaced from their homes.
Cameroon’s government
has been accused of human rights abuses during the conflict, and US President
Donald Trump has axed the country from a special trade program with America.
