YAOUNDE, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were kidnapped by suspected separatist fighters in Cameroon's West region, residents and security sources said Monday.
The abduction took place Sunday night in Bangourain, a locality in the Noun division of the West region, when armed men stormed a family compound.
"Those who were kidnapped are members of the same family," a security source in the region told Xinhua by telephone. "The separatist terrorists invaded their compound while they were asleep and took them away at gunpoint. We have launched a manhunt to rescue the hostages and capture the terrorists."
Cameroon's West region shares a border with the English-speaking Northwest region, where an armed separatist conflict is ongoing. Separatist fighters regularly target civilians and soldiers in the neighboring French-speaking regions.
A separatist war has been raging in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, where separatists seek to create an independent nation. ■
