Gunmen kill nine in market raid in western Cameroon

Gunmen killed nine people and left several others wounded in an attack on a weekly market in Bamenyam town in the west of Cameroon early on Tuesday, a local official said. The attack in Bamboutos division, a French-speaking area, took place close to the region where armed separatists have been fighting to carve out an independent English-speaking state called Ambazonia since 2017.

Gunmen killed nine people and left several others wounded in an attack on a weekly market in Bamenyam town in the west of Cameroon early on Tuesday, a local official said.

The attack in Bamboutos division, a French-speaking area, took place close to the region where armed separatists have been fighting to carve out an independent English-speaking state called Ambazonia since 2017. "We are just witnessing nine deaths because some people have some complaints which make no sense. It is deplorable," said David Dador Dibango, a local government official.

None of the separatist groups have claimed responsibility for the attack. Attacks on French-speaking regions have increased in the last two years as rebels have stepped up their drive to create a breakaway state.

The drawn-out conflict stems from perceived marginalisation of Cameroon's Anglophone community by the majority Francophone-led government. The fighting has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced nearly a million, with atrocities committed by both sides.