YAOUNDE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has reaffirmed the government's commitment to restoring peace in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, where an armed separatist conflict has persisted since 2017.
"Every effort is being made to restore lasting peace to our regions," Ngute said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday evening.
His remarks came a day after suspected separatist fighters ambushed and killed a police commissioner and kidnapped six teachers Tuesday in Wum, a town in the Northwest Region.
Ngute said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack and expressed solidarity with the affected communities.
Clashes have intensified in both regions since early September, after separatist fighters declared a weeklong lockdown aimed at disrupting the start of the new school year.
Religious and traditional leaders from the two regions submitted a peace roadmap document to the prime minister Tuesday outlining proposals to end the crisis.
Separatist groups have been fighting to create an independent state in Cameroon's Anglophone regions. ■