Bloody Monday In Kumbo, Bamenda: In Search of Amba Fighters, Soldiers Kill, Burn And Loot
By NFOR Hanson NCHANJI with field reports
More than 10 persons have been killed in Kumbo and at least 3 in Bamenda, North West region, as soldiers go on a killing spree in less than 24 hours. They also burned houses and intimidated Doctors and Nurses at the Shisong hospital.
The military used Sunday, February 17, 2019, as an invasion day in Kumbo, headquarters of Bui Division. The soldiers carried out arson attacks on houses of civilians around the Tsennkar quarter and around a popular place called Squares.
The men in uniform shot indiscriminately at civilians, killing one man called Vernyuy John Paul, a resident has said. The soldiers later went to Shisong, where they set several houses around the hospital on fire. Reports have it that they killed at least 2 persons. After exchanges with Separatist fighters, the military suspected they could be treated in the hospital; they stormed the medical facility, threatening to arrest Doctors and Nurses treating the boys.
Soldiers on Sunday in the village of Kishoóng, about 7 km North of Kumbo town, laid an ambush in an old church building leading to the killing of at least 2 Ambazonia fighters.
Monday of No Mercy
The Cameroon military got into the Shisong General Hospital early Monday, February 18, 2019, with anger, while some moved around shooting into the air, others moved from ward to ward searching for wounded Ambazonia separatist fighters who are usually treated in this hospital.
They eventually pulled out one man whom they accused of being a fighter and threatened to shoot him. The Reverend Sisters pleaded for several minutes before they let go of this patient.
They threatened to set the hospital on fire, accusing the management of the hospital of being an accomplice to the armed fighters by hiding and treating them.
After about an hour of tension in the hospital, they left the hospital without any damage. However, they did set a shop on fire at the Sunday market about 250 metres from the hospital. They then moved to the village of Mbuluf where an exchange between them and pro-independence fighters took place. Several houses were set on fire, including the Catholic primary school in Mbuluf which had been transformed into a camp by the fighters. At least half a dozen persons were killed.
Soldiers Kill At least 3 in Bamenda
The ghost town observed in the two English-speaking regions did not prevent Soldiers from attacking civilians found on streets. Soldiers shot four boys at NITOP, a neighbourhood in Bamenda.
The trigger-happy soldiers were in a Taxi, according to eyewitness accounts. They opened fire as soon as they spotted the boys playing football. Two of the boys died while two were rushed to the Bamenda regional hospital.
Elsewhere, tension gripped the Mile 90 neighbourhood of Bamenda after witnesses said soldiers shot a man identified as Frutsi Angwafor, the grandson of Fo Angwafor III of Mankon, before leaving the scene without explanation.
According to multiple witnesses, the soldiers arrived in a taxi and parked near the victim’s residence before entering the area. They allegedly pulled Frutsi Angwafor from his house and shot him five times, with bullets striking his hand and chest, CNA learned.
The gunfire sent residents scrambling for safety, with many rushing indoors as the shooting unfolded. After the soldiers reportedly left the area, frightened residents emerged from their homes and rushed the wounded man to the Bamenda Regional Hospital for emergency treatment.
He was later taken out of the region without further details.
Witnesses said no explanation was given for the operation, leaving residents uncertain about why Frutsi Angwafor had been targeted. CNA could not independently verify the circumstances surrounding the shooting or whether any official operation was being conducted in the neighbourhood.
The whereabouts of Fru Tsi Angwafor remain unclear following the incident. A source who said they were present during the emergency treatment told CNA that heavily armed soldiers maintained a presence outside the hospital while the victim was receiving medical care and restricted access to the area, preventing relatives and other visitors from approaching.
The source further alleged that the security personnel remained on standby throughout the treatment. CNA has not independently verified those claims.
Rights groups have previously documented cases in which individuals suspected of supporting the Anglophone cause were allegedly removed from hospitals by security forces while receiving treatment, although it remains unclear whether such circumstances apply in this case.
Frutsi Angwafor is known to be an outspoken critic of the CPDM ruling party, especially on matters about Anglophone marginalisation.
Cameroon’s military had not stated the incidents that happened on the weekend in the entire city of Bamenda.
