Cameroonian separatists blamed for school terrorist attack

 A DNT Exclusive – The gruesome attack on Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in the city of Kumba on Saturday that killed children between the ages of 12 and 14 is being blamed on separatist fighters seeking to secede from Cameroon.

The attack killed at least eight children and wounded a dozen after attackers stormed a school in southwestern Cameroon with guns and machetes.

No group has thus far claimed responsibility of the attack but observers point to a campaign by the separatists to boycott schools and businesses, and how they have used attacks such as this to enforce that boycott.

In 2016, long-simmering tensions in the country’s two English-speaking regions in the southwest began to boil over in October when the Anglophone community there staged a series of strikes and demonstrations, protesting against marginalization by the Francophone central government.

The government responded to the protests initially with repressive measures and then later with conciliatory gestures that addressed some of the grievances, but it was not enough to quell the unrest.

The unrest has persisted buoyed by the 38-year dictatorship of President Paul Biya whose reign has been seen as largely marginalizing the Anglophone parts of Cameroon.

The chief of Kumba is organizing a peaceful protest to demand justice for the victims and also for peace. Local celebrities have also joined in delivering messages that promote peace.

One Cameroonian who spoke to DNT on condition of anonymity said he was “perplexed” at why the separatists would kill their own children. He called himself “Ototon” meaning local boy, and expressed hopelessness for the people of the Southwest saying “we have no future.”

The “Ototon” rejected the separatist agenda, but said he would support a Federal system so that the Anglophone parts of Cameroon would exercise more control over their destiny.

According to DNT Correspondent, the justice department has not been able to provide any report on their investigation so far. At this point, there have been only protests and public denouncing of the massacre by public figures and the nation in general.

DNT News with Correspondence reports from Kown Elonge.