YAOUNDE, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- About eight passengers on a bus were kidnapped by suspected separatist fighters in Cameroon's Northwest Region, where an armed separatist conflict is ongoing, security sources said Thursday night.
The bus left the regional capital Bamenda on Thursday and was heading to the town of Kumbo when it was intercepted by gunmen.
"The separatist terrorists kidnapped the passengers when the bus was crossing the locality of Bamessing. They took them into the bush and started demanding a huge ransom. We only learned about the abduction late Thursday," a security source in the region told Xinhua.
Movement along the highway has been halted, and a search operation for the hostages has been launched, according to local authorities.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions where separatists have been clashing with government forces since 2017 seeking to establish a new nation. ■