By Brian Okoth
Thirty women were on Saturday allegedly abducted by insurgents in a village in the northwestern part of Cameroon.
Government officials said on Tuesday that the victims were “tortured and kidnapped by armed terrorists”.
Kedjom-Keku, the area where the alleged abductions occurred, has experienced years of conflict between Cameroonian government forces and the insurgents.
The women were abducted while protesting against violence, officials in northwestern Cameroon said.
Fighting has been rife in the area, with separatists allegedly pushing for adoption of English language in northwestern Cameroon, a country that is 80 per cent French-speaking.
Quoting a local official, AFP reported that the armed separatist groups frequently kidnap civilians, mostly for ransom.
"Around 30 women were kidnapped by separatists (on Saturday morning). We have not found them yet," an army colonel told the outlet on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
