YAOUNDE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- A commander of Cameroon's elite force, the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) and four civilians were killed on Tuesday in the country's restive Anglophone region of Southwest, according to local and security sources.
Commander Essama was leading a team of BIR forces on a reconnaissance mission at the Ikiliwindi locality of the region Tuesday morning when they were ambushed and attacked by separatist fighters, a senior military official who asked not to be named told Xinhua by phone.
"The commander was killed in the fighting. The separatist terrorists escaped and are being pursued by our forces," the official said.
Cameroon's two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest have been experiencing an armed separatist conflict since 2017. Separatists want to create an independent nation they call "Ambazonia" in the two regions. ■
