Armed separatists in Cameroon\u2019s troubled anglophone region attacked a village before being repelled by soldiers, security officials said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA group of secessionists on Thursday attacked the locality of Dadi,\u201d a source said, referring to a village in the Mamfe area of Southwest Region \u2014 one of two areas shaken by unrest in Cameroon\u2019s anglophone minority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe army repelled the attack\u2026 inflicting fatalities among the assailants,\u201d a security official said. The account was confirmed by a military source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the reported attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cameroonian press reports said the attackers came \u201cfrom a neighbouring country\u201d and left behind 26 hunting guns and a pump-action shotgun, as well as 20 mobile phones and dozens of T-shirts printed with \u201cAmbazonia Defence Force,\u201d a reference to the separatists\u2019 self-declared homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English-speakers, who account for some 20 percent of Cameroon\u2019s population of 23 million, have long protested at what they perceive to be bias in favour of the French-speaking majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since November 2016, resentment has fed demands for autonomy or a separate state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cameroon\u2019s 84-year-old president, Paul Biya, has rejected the demands and ordered a crackdown, including curfews, raids and restrictions on travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International monitors say at least 20 and possibly 40 people have been killed since late September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have also been escalating attacks on police and the military. Ten were killed in November alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mamfe area has become a hotspot for such attacks, including the killing of four soldiers last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The anglophone minority dates to the emergence of Cameroon in 1960-61, as France and Britain wound down their colonies in west Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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