Tragic Shooting in Cameroon’s Bamenda City Leaves Nine Dead, Including a Newlywed Couple.
In a heart-wrenching incident in Bamenda, Cameroon’s largest English-speaking city, unidentified gunmen killed at least nine people, tragically including a newly married couple. The victims, Simplice Lontsi Tsomene and Hélène Raisa Tanga were loving parents to three children and owned a phone shop.
The attack is being attributed to separatist rebels, who have been in conflict with the government since 2017, seeking to establish a separate country called Ambazonia for Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. Bamenda has become one of the hotspots in this ongoing struggle.
Eyewitnesses recount that the gunmen arrived at a busy junction in two unmarked vehicles and ordered people to lie down. However, panic ensued, and when some residents tried to flee, the attackers opened fire, leading to the tragic loss of lives.
Shockingly, the gunmen accused the victims of being “black legs,” implying that they were either collaborating with the government or disregarding the separatists’ directives. The situation is escalating rapidly, with reports of grave human rights violations and atrocities committed by both sides.
Amnesty International has recently published a report, urging the government to investigate alleged murders and rapes in the Anglophone armed conflict. Although no group has claimed responsibility for these killings, some separatist Ambazonia leaders in the diaspora have been inciting their fighters to mercilessly target those they label as “black legs.”
The unfolding events are a harrowing reminder of the devastating toll armed conflicts can take on innocent lives and communities. The call for peace and resolution becomes even more urgent in the face of such senseless violence and loss.
