This is how the Njiptapon attack which left 9 dead unfolded
Cameroon is mourning the death of 9 elements of the special Gendarmerie force GPIGN who were murdered early this June 8th in Njiptapon, Kouoptamo subdivision of Cameroon.
Details have now emerged on how the attack unfolded. CNA learned that the attacked gendarmerie post stands at the banks of a river and shares a boundary with Babessi.
It is through this river that almost a hundred separatist fighters came in on flying boats with engines turned off to avoid alerting the soldiers with the noise. The element on guard was quickly eliminated and this noise alerted the rest of the squad which was asleep.
Considering that only one door gives access to the building, they attempted an escape through this door and were immediately ambushed. Only three of the twelve men at the post succeeded to escape but sustained serious injury and are now under intensive care. The 9 other men were shot, burned alive and their heads chopped off and taken away.
The separatists then got into the building and collected weapons which they proceeded to use to destroy the building and vehicles. Two grenades were used to bring down the post and a rocket launcher was used to burn down vehicles.
According to insider sources, some GPIGN elements came in from Bambalang as support staff considering that most of the Njiptapon elements had gone on training in Yaounde. They were expected to be more than 12 when the attack happened but this was not the case. A survivor of the attack says an element was taken alive but no video has far emerged to ascertain this.
Military sources also state that backup came into Njiptapon but arrived just as the fighters were leaving in their boat while celebrating their victory.