Yaounde, Cameroon — Officials in Cameroon say people are again fleeing towns in western regions as separatists block traffic on the streets, burn vehicles that defy their orders and abduct and torture civilians for ransom. Rights groups are accusing Cameroon's central government of neglecting and abandoning oppressed civilians.
In a video circulated on social media, a fighter brandishing knives and an AK-47 said he would cut the throats of every civilian who refuses to collaborate with separatists in Ngoketunjia, Bui and Mezam, administrative units in Cameroon's Northwest region.
The man, accompanied by about a dozen other armed fighters said he has ordered separatists to make sure no market is open and no vehicle enters several villages in Ngoketunjia until further notice.
Cameroon's military on Monday said the video is that of English-speaking fighters expressing anger over the killing of several separatists within the past two days of heavy fighting. VOA could not independently verify the claim.
But in the video, the fighters said they lost two separatists and killed several Cameroon government troops.
Fighters advocating for the creation of an English-speaking state separate from majority French-speaking Cameroon have been waging war against the government since 2017.
Fresh fighting was provoked by a wave of violence including torture and abduction of civilians for ransom, the Cameroon government said.
Officials say at least 50 civilians were abducted and tortured in Bamali village within the past three weeks. Villagers said families had to pay at least $500 for each kidnap victim to regain freedom. The government says dozens more who were abducted are still in separatist camps.
Cameroon's military says in some separatist-controlled areas, fighters have ordered drivers to paint taxis blue and white, the colors separatist groups are using in the flag of Ambazonia, the republic they hope to create out of Cameroon's Northwest and Southwest regions.
Several dozen taxis that defied the separatist order have been torched, the government says.
Deben Tchoffo, the governor of the Northwest region, said more troops will be deployed in the days ahead to make sure civilians are protected from a new wave of separatist abductions, rape, maiming, killing, looting and torching goods. He also said Cameroon President Paul Biya has ordered that civilians can assist government troops by creating local militias to fight and stop separatists from causing atrocities.
Tchoffo said fighters who drop their weapons and surrender will be pardoned as ordered by Biya.
Separatists say the new wave of attacks is to make Cameroon's predominantly English -speaking regions ungovernable for the central government in Yaounde until they achieve what they say will be their complete independence.
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According to rights groups, the current fighting and atrocities committed by both government troops and separatists has displaced several hundred civilians including recent returnees.
Gaby Ambo, the executive director of FGI, a rights group with headquarters in Bamenda, capital of the Northwest region, said civilians are particularly angry because the Cameroon government is not doing enough to protect people and their property.
"The government has not been able to live up to its responsibility in ensuring that such acts don't happen anymore. The military too do their own worst. They use guns to intimidate the people and extort money from them. The reign of impunity is beyond measure, it is beyond control and this is how gross the violations are actually growing by the day and so we are expecting some serious actions that can actually make the government understand that the rights of these people are cardinal," he said.
Ambo said many people who returned, trying to rebuild their lives, are leaving troubled towns and villages.
During his visit to Cameroon last week, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called for an end to Cameroon's separatist conflict.
The International Crisis Group says more than 6,000 people have been killed and the unrest has deprived 750,000 children, especially girls of education.
