YAOUNDE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Cameroonian official abducted Tuesday evening in the country's conflict-torn English-speaking region of Northwest has been freed, said the region's governor Adolph Lele L'Afrique Wednesday.
Nicholas Nkongho Manchang, the sub-prefect of Bamenda II, a subdivision of the region, was kidnapped at gunpoint with five other individuals while they were on the way to attend an official ceremony.
The official was freed following a "swift military operation" four hours after the abduction, L'Afrique said.
The five other hostages were still in captivity and it was important for the people to continue providing security forces with information that will lead to their release, L'Afrique said while presiding over a ceremony in Nkambe, a town in the region.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Separatist fighters have been active in the region since 2017 after they began clashing with government forces in a bid to create an independent state in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest. ■
