By Elah Geofrey Mbongale
Following the repeated gun exchange between gunmen who identify themselves as the Ambazonian Defense Forces and government troops in Manyu division, which has led to loss of lives, including some civilian causality, traditional authorities of the division have, in very strong terms, condemned the killings on both sides.
This was through a statement signed by HM Nfor (Dr.) Godson Orock Oben, Vice President of the Manyu Traditional Rulers Association, MATRA, HM Nfor Agbor Etchi Agborndakaw, Secretary General of the association, HM Ntuifam Bayen Tabe Michael and HM Nfor Tanyi Robinson of Upper Bayang on December 13, 2017 in Mamfe.
According to the statement, the traditional authorities “…condemn the atrocities and killing of our security and defence force by activists, equally condemn the atrocities such as, the looting, killings, harassments and torture of our population by the security and defence forces.”
The traditional authorities called for a return to normalcy and strongly appealed to the activists to stop all forms of hostilities against security and defence forces and for government to take all measures to assure the security of the population, build confidence within and cause for the return of all those who fled their homes as a result of the Senior Divisional Officer’s order of December 1, 2017 calling on the population to “relocate to safer neighbourhoods of their choices”.
While expressing profound condolences for the lives lost so far, the chiefs called on the population to remain calm and desist from carrying out any provocative acts against the security and defence forces and called on them to cooperate with the forces of law and order in the maintenance of peace.
The chiefs’ statement comes on the heels of several deadly clashes in the South West region and in Manyu particularly that has led more than 5,000 people to flee to neighbouring Nigeria as refugees. More persons are reported to have left the region following an attack on a Mamfe gendarmerie post last Friday, December 8 by some unidentified gunmen which resulted in hours of gunfire exchange which left of one civilian, one military officer and five purported assailants dead.
The attack came after the killing of six uniform men in Mamfe and heavy military reinforcement after the head of state’s declaration of war on Anglophone secessionists.
Recently, there have been reports of sporadic gunfire in the division and military helicopter patrols have sown panic amongst the population.