A 22-year-old girl on board a public transport bus is reported to have lost her life after gunmen believed to be separatist fighters opened fire on the vehicle as it plied the Buea-Kumba highway in the restive South West region of Cameroon Tuesday September 14.
According to local sources, the vehicle was caught in the middle of a gun battle between soldiers and Ambazonia fighters around Mbalangi, a village along the Muyuka-Kumba highway.
The victim whose only name Agence Cameroun Presse got as Vanessa was unlucky enough as a bullet missed its way through their vehicle and hit her fatally. Meanwhile four other passengers on board the transport bus sustained injuries.
It is reported that Vanessa had left Limbe to attend the funeral service of her friend's Dad in Kumba before the unfortunate incident.
This sad incident occurred a day before the start of a rumoured lockdown announced by one of Ambazonia Interim Governments, led by Sako Ikome in the North West and South West regions.
Few hours after this announcement, members of the Ambazonia Defence Forces led by Ayaba Cho Lucas took to social media to denounce it, qualifying the decision as punishment on the population of the regions.
In a statement, the Interim Government said the only lockdown that remains in place is that of Monday. “As a Government, the safety and security of our people in ground zero is our utmost priority and your Interim Government would always consult with our self-defence heroes before making public announcement that affect the lives of our people in ground zero…” Part of the statement read.
In many of such instances, separatist leaders openly displayed their disagreement over the management of affairs in the North West and South West regions that have been suffering from an over four years long socio-political crisis.
Rumours about this said lockdown is reported to have scared some Bamenda city-dwellers. The Guardian Post in its Wednesday September 15 edition reports that most families rushed to the market yesterday to buy foodstuff, meanwhile hundreds of others were spotted scrambling to buy tickets at major bus stations to get out of town.
The same phenomenon was reportedly observed in Kumba, South West region where the streets this Wednesday are deserted.
Ariane Foguem
