Munyenge, a village in Fako divisions of the Southwest region has been at the center of violence throughout the week, where gun battles took over community life.
Gun exchanges between Cameroon’s defence forces and the Ambazonia fighters have been the order of the day, and this flared after councilors went to the polls on March 25 to vote senators.
Hundreds of troops have been stationed in Munyenge, in a bid to create a serene atmosphere, following recent attacks from the Ambazonia fighters.
However, this has met with stiff opposition, which heightened on Thursday March 22, after the convoy of the Senior Divisional Officer of neighbouring Lebialem was attacked by the Ambazonian fighters. The SDO, Zakari Ungitoh was shot at, and the regional delegate of Lands killed on the spot, and others seriously wounded. Reports have it that the SDO is currently receiving treatment in Douala.
The entire population of Munyenge vanished into thin air, as the totally deserted area is occupied solely by the military.
Security forces are said to have shot on sight at any person who was found at the villages. Hundreds of houses were razed down, allegedly by the military.
According to one of the villagers, houses of those who were suspected to be activists and family members of known activists abroad were particularly targeted.
He cited the case of one Senge Grace, who before leaving the country was an active member of the then Cameroon Anglophone Student Association, CANSA, and the Southern Cameroon National Council, SCNC.
Senge’s family house in Munyenge was razed to the ground and her grandmother and other family members joined several villagers to escape to the bushes.
Several other villagers escaped to neighbouring Muyuka and Kumba while the village has been transformed into a ghost town.
Our sources hinted that Senge Grace and other SCNC activists were arrested sometime in 2015 while holding a preparatory meeting in Kumba to commemorate the independence of Southern Cameroons on October 1 of that year, they were charged with hostilities against the fatherland, treason, secession and inciting a revolution, charges which were later dropped.
It is believed she was the main target of the raid and subsequent burning of their family residence due to her alleged role in the escalation of the Anglophone crisis.