“It was quite simply an unfortunate accident, the collateral result of security operations in the region.”
Up to 22 civilians, 14 of them children, died in the incident on Friday, according to the United Nations. Photo: FRANCE24
Five civilians — a woman and four children — died, and “seven terrorists” were “neutralised,” Atonfack told AFP in Libreville by phone.The deaths occurred in the village of Ntumbo in Cameroon’s Northwest Region — one of two English-speaking regions that have been grappling with separatist violence since October 2017.“It was quite simply an unfortunate accident, the collateral result of security operations in the region,” Atonfack said in a statement.
“This fire caused five casualties, a woman and four children, far off from what is doing the rounds on social media,” he added.On Sunday, James Nunan, a local official with UN humanitarian coordination agency OCHA, told AFP that “armed men” had carried out the killings. Aid workers contacted by AFP said witnesses had told them that between 40 and 50 armed men — some wearing army uniform and some wearing masks — entered Ngarbuh, a district of the village, before shooting inhabitants dead and burning them.
The Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon , one of the country’s two main opposition parties, issued a statement condemning the attacks. The murders, which came to light through a video on the internet, were initially dismissed as “fake news” by the government, which later investigated the incident and arrested seven suspects.English-speakers account for nearly a fifth of Cameroon’s population of 24 million, who are majority French-speaking.
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