By Sah Terence Animbom.
Tensions within the last days of the past week have been shifting gradually from Belo, Widikum and Batibo towards Bamenda City.
From Bafut where the Ambazonian fighters went into a fierce confrontation with the military at the airport which also serves as a military base housing most especially the BIRs on Friday May 11th 2018, the next cause for pandemonium was the arrest of some youths around the Travelers neighborhood on Saturday evening at about 5:30 pm.
Sources recount that the military got into the neighborhood and asked everyone in the area to lie on their stomachs while brutalizing some youths and forcing them into their trucks. This action caused a ripple effect as those who managed to flee from the area sounded the alarm across the other nieghbourhoods. There was total pandemonium from the Travelers neighborhood through Hospital roundabout to food market and City Chemist roundabout as well as the Commercial Avenue.
The chaos at the Food Market was even more intense as market women struggling in the crowds fell over their merchandise. Others opted for safety first and abandoned their goods. Running in all directions, they bumped into each other all heading homewards. In about one hour, the streets of the Town were totally deserted but for a few private cars and taxis.
One of the fleeing women told The Sun as she fled “I hear those ‘boys’ are at Travelers”.
It is worth mentioning that this is the second wave of mass arrests carried out by the Military in Bamenda during the past week. The first took place at Mobile Nkwen during which people who were drinking in a bar at about 7:00pm on Tuesday were forced out by the military and taken to the military barracks. Talking with one of the arrested who pleaded for anonymity, he said he paid the sum of 25.000FCFA to be released.
Many other stories of persons being arrested recently and released upon payment of money abound in Bamenda.