A soldier was killed in an attack in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking Northwest Region on Saturday, local sources said.
The soldier was “ambushed” while on patrol with another service member, who was not harmed, near the town of Furu-Awa in the Menchum department, a regional source told AFP.
Violence occurs almost daily in the Northwest and Southwest Regions between government forces and English-speaking separatists, who are fighting for greater autonomy.
For years, resentment built among anglophones, who make up about a fifth of Cameroon’s population of 22 million, fostered by perceived marginalisation at the hands of the French-speaking majority.
The crisis escalated last October after the declaration of the self-described “Republic of Ambazonia” in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, causing scores of deaths and prompting tens of thousands to flee their homes.
According to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, at least 120 civilians and 43 security forces have been killed since the end of 2016.
The UN says 160,000 people have been internally displaced and 20,000 sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria.
