Assailants fatally shot nine individuals and injured multiple others during an assault on a weekly market situated in Bamenyam town in western Cameroon on Tuesday, according to a statement from a local official.
The incident occurred in Bamboutos division, a predominantly French-speaking region, near the area where armed separatists have been engaged in a conflict aiming to establish an autonomous English-speaking state known as Ambazonia since 2017.
“We are just witnessing nine deaths because some people have some complaints which make no sense. It is deplorable,” said David Dador Dibango, a local government official.
None of the separatist groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the past two years, there has been a surge in attacks on French-speaking regions as rebel groups intensify their efforts to establish an independent state.
The prolonged conflict originates from the perceived marginalization of Cameroon’s Anglophone community by the government led predominantly by the Francophone majority.
More than 6,000 individuals have lost their lives in the conflict, causing displacement of nearly a million people, as both sides have been involved in committing atrocities.
