YAOUNDE, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen suspected separatist fighters have been killed in a military raid in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest Region, according to local and security sources.
They were killed on Sunday after government forces stormed a separatist hideout in the Ndzerem-Nyam locality of the region, a military official said.
"Our brave soldiers were informed of an unusual gathering of separatist terrorists in the locality. We immediately planned and targeted the hideout, killing 14 of them on the spot and injuring several others," the official, who asked not to be named, told Xinhua, adding that no soldiers were killed during the operation.
Local officials said the suspected separatist fighters killed in the raid were notorious for kidnapping for ransom in the area.
Early Monday, separatist leaders said on social media platforms that some of those killed were civilians, including a woman.
An armed separatist conflict has been ongoing in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions since 2017. Separatists want to create an independent nation in the two regions. ■