A “linguistic” conflict hits Cameroon…and rebels kidnap and torture 30 women

Cameroon authorities said on Tuesday that separatist rebels kidnapped “about 30” women on Saturday while they were participating in a demonstration against abuses they committed in the west of the country, where a bloody conflict has been going on for nearly 6 years between separatists from the Anglophone minority and the security forces.

“They were severely tortured and kidnapped by armed terrorists,” Meizam district police said in a statement in the village of Kadjum Kiko in the northwest region, where armed separatist groups often kidnap civilians to demand ransom.

The authorities use the word “terrorists” to refer to armed rebels demanding independence for the northwestern and southwestern regions, where an English-speaking minority lives in the Central African country and most of its population speaks French.

An army colonel confirmed to “Agence France Presse” on Tuesday evening, on condition of anonymity, that “about thirty women were kidnapped by separatists” on Saturday morning “and we have not found them yet.”

And the communication service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration, “Agence France Presse,” reported on Tuesday evening that the authorities “have no news about the hostages.”

The day before, these elderly women had organized a “peaceful march to protest… against the extortion and criminal activities of terrorists,” Mezam police confirmed.

The government stated that the women were organizing a protest against illegal taxes imposed on them by the fighters.

Simon Emil Moh, a senior official in the area, said the separatists collect monthly payments from children, women and men, tax those who want to marry, and force families to pay $1,000 to bury their loved ones.

Cameroon has been plagued by violence since anglophone separatists launched a rebellion in 2017, with the stated aim of breaking away from the francophone-dominated region and establishing an independent, English-speaking state.

The government accused the separatists of committing atrocities against Anglophone civilians. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group.