By DANIELA NEBA NGUM
Villagers of Banga Bakundu, Mbonge subdivision, Southwest region, were on Wednesday, February 14 taking aback by the influx of the military in their village following a rumour that two Gendarme officers were killed in a gun battle between the military and separatist fighters.
The news that spread like wide fire during the early hours of the day caused commotion in the village as villagers fled into the nearby bushes and to other towns like Kumba for fear of military retaliation.
Social media posting had announced that the gun men killed two gendarmes on duty and kidnapped two others.
In the course of our investigation, The SUN caught up with a woman who had fled from Banga that morning but decided to go back after she received calls that her home has been destroyed by government forces.
She explained that there was actually a fracas but that the news of gendarmes killed were mere rumours intended to cause panic.
According to her, the separatist fighters traveled from Peteh Bakundu, passing through Mbopoh were there is a control post into Banga and attacked those on duty but that none of the military officers were killed.
According to her, the information which circulated that morning was that the separatist fighters are determined to remove all military checkpoints in Mbonge subdivision.
Another source in of Banga Bakundu told The SUN that at least one gendarme officer sustained injuries during the gun exchange.
Information which filtered from the Meme SDO’s office reveals that a team dispatched to Banga Bakundu same Wednesday conducted a roll call of those who were on duty at the time of the attack and everyone was accounted for.
The incident forced the population to seek refuge in nearby villages and forests. Some however traveled to nearby towns like Kumba, Muyuka and Buea for safety.
It is also reported that some villagers suffered losses as their property were destroyed by the military in retaliation for the attack on the security post.
It should be recalled that since the beginning of this crisis, this is the second time Banga Bakundu is witnessing attacks on the military and subsequent reprisal by the military. The first was after a gendarmerie post was set ablaze on May 20, 2017.