Cameroon Says Separatists Disguised as Military Kill, Loot

BABADJOU, CAMEROON - Cameroonian officials say anglophone rebels are taking a new tack in their fight to break away from the country’s French-speaking-majority. Officials say the separatists have started disguising themselves as military troops to infiltrate villages and launch attacks.

In a video widely circulated on social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, a group of 10 men armed with AK-94 assault rifles claim they are separatist fighters. The men, in civilian clothing, appear to brandish Cameroonian military uniforms, guns, ammunition and bulletproof vests they say they seized from Cameroon military. The men display a man’s head claiming it is that of a government soldier they killed and beheaded. Cameroon’s military says the head displayed by the fighters as a trophy is that of one of its troops deployed to Babadjou, a French-speaking commercial town on the border with the English-speaking North-West region. Awah Fonka, governor of Cameroon’s West region, where Babadjou is located, said more than 20 English-speaking separatists from Pinyin, a town in the North-West region, infiltrated the French-speaking West region Wednesday. He said the fighters attacked government troops and looted Babadjou shops.