Cameroon: Gunmen Torch Hospital, 4 Dead

At least four people have been killed after a group of gunmen attacked and burned down a hospital in southwestern Cameroon.

The gunmen – believed to be English-speaking separatists – reportedly raided and subsequently torched the Kumba District Hospital located in the town of Kumba.

Kumba serves as the home of an English-speaking minority, who account for one-fifth of the country’s population.

Since October 2017, it has been badly hit by the violence between Cameroonian troops and the separatists. The latter seeks to establish an independent country called “Ambazonia” in defiance of the French-speaking government.

In a statement, Rene Sadi, a government spokesman, confirmed the attack: “[The gunmen] came with heavy weapons and created panic in the hospital by shooting in the air. They burned the hospital, and four patients died from the violence.”

It’s unclear if the victims were shot or perished in the fire.

This latest incident comes three months after 79 pupils, their principal and a driver were kidnapped from a boarding school by armed separatists in Cameroon’s northwest region.