Gunmen kill 20 in attack in Cameroon

Anglophone separatists opened fire and set several homes ablaze in an attack Monday on the town of Mamfe in southwest Cameroon, killing at least 20 people and injuring another 10, said local authorities.

The gunmen attacked the village of Egbekaw, a neighbourhood in the town of Mamfe, setting houses on fire and killing men, women and children as they slept, local government official Viang Mekala told journalists on Monday.

Separatists have been fighting to carve out an independent state called Ambazonia in western Cameroon. Armed groups have clashed with government forces and carried out attacks, kidnappings and killings in the region since 2017.

“The situation is under control and the population should not panic,” Mekala said, adding that security forces were searching the area.

“The attack left around 20 dead, men, women and children, and 10 seriously injured people are in hospital,” a senior regional administrative official told journalists on condition of anonymity.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack._Agencies