At least two police officers have died in fresh violence in western Cameroon where English-speaking separatists have declared an independent state, the military said Sunday.

The men were killed by armed pro-independence fighters near the town of Wum in Northwest Region, an army spokesman said.

The separatist camp spoke of nine police dead.

Army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said, on Facebook, that 21 of the attackers had been "neutralised", without saying how many had been involved in the assault.

Separatist unrest in Cameroon's two minority English-speaking regions -- North-West and South-West -- has left scores dead and displaced around 200,000 people since late 2016.

About 30.000 of those displaced have crossed the border into neighbouring Nigeria.

Years of resentment at perceived discrimination at the hands of the Cameroon's francophone majority have led to almost daily acts of violence and retribution.

Security in the two regions has deteriorated significantly since late last year and now clashes with separatist fighters are almost daily occurrences. A total of 109 members of the police and security forces have been killed, according to government figures.

The conflict poses problems for the organisation of the presidential election, scheduled for October 7, in which the 85-year-old incumbent, Paul Biya, is bidding for a seventh consecutive term.

Anglophones today account for about a fifth of the West African country's population of 22 million.

str-stb/pvh/klm

Facebook

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Moscow signs military cooperation pact with C. Africa
Moscow (AFP) Aug 21, 2018
Moscow and the Central African Republic signed a military cooperation agreement on Tuesday, less than a month after three Russian journalists were killed in the strife-torn CAR while probing alleged Russian mercenaries. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his CAR counterpart Marie-Noelle Koyara signed the document on the sidelines of defense expo Army-2018 outside Moscow, Russian agencies reported. The deal "will help strengthen ties in the defense sphere," Shoigu was quoted as saying aft ... read more