Cameroon: Mamfe Bishop expresses Church’s solidarity after gunmen attack Egbekaw village.

Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.

In a statement released Monday, the Bishop of Mamfe Diocese, Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo, speaks about the attack by gunmen that left at least 20 people dead. There were also many injuries, houses and various properties set on fire and looted by the gunmen.

Nothing justifies this heinous act

Local media quoted a local government official, Viang Mekala, as saying that men, women and children were killed as they slept.

The village of Egbekaw is in the neighbourhood of the town of Mamfe.

“In the early hours of Monday 6th of November 2023, several persons were killed, others gravely injured and a good number of houses burned down by unidentified Gunmen at Egbekaw village in Mamfe Central Subdivision. Up till this moment, we cannot find any reasons to justify this heinous act,” Bishop Abangalo explained.

No group has claimed responsibility, but some local media outlets suspect Anglophone Separatists who may have wanted to disrupt Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s 41st anniversary. The countrywide celebrations were slated for Monday -the very day of the Mamfe early morning attack.

Prayers and solidarity

Bishop Abangalo has since invited prayers for the deceased, solidarity with the injured and with bereaved families..

About 6,000 civilians have been killed by both government forces and armed separatist fighters since late 2016 in the North-West and South-West regions as armed separatist groups seek independence for the country’s minority Anglophone regions.

Government’s security forces have been criticised in the Human Rights Watch World Report 2023 for responding to separatist attacks with a heavy hand, often targeting civilians across the Anglophone regions. At the same time, Separatist fighters have also been condemned for killings, torture, assault, and kidnap of civilians – the very people they seek to liberate.