Mayhem in Manyu as suspected separatists kill five soldiers on Mamfe-Ekok road

Suspected separatist fighters have killed a Gendarmerie Brigade Commander and four of his men in Eyomujock Subdivision in the Manyu Division of the South West region, the Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute confirmed in a tweet.

The members of the defence and security forces were ambushed on the Mamfe-Ekok road, between the villages of Ayukaba and Eyangchang on Friday, May 10.

The Prime Minister said it was with profound emotion that he learnt of the killing of the members of the defence and security forces. He expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the valiant soldiers

“I would like to express my outrage at the unfortunate incident”, Dion Ngute said in a tweet. “The incident occurred when the Commander of the Eyumojock Brigade and four of his men, who were out on patrol, were ambushed by about thirty armed men from the secessionist group”, the PM wrote extending his “sincere condolences to our valiant soldiers and to the families of the victims who fell in the defence of Fatherland”.

The Head of Government invited the population to cooperate more with the defence and security forces to avert such unfortunate attacks.

Allege killers celebrate in video

A widely circulated video confirmed to be that of the attack shows over 30 separatists in front of a burning vehicle on the tarred road displaying guns, military helmets, bullet proof vests and military uniforms believed to have been seized from the killed gendarmes.

Circumstances leading to the killing of the gendarmerie officers have yet to be clarified but media reports hold that an informant supposedly working for the separatists tricked them. Going by the said reports, the informant had told the Brigade Commander that separatists were operating on that stretch of road that Friday morning.

Acting on the alert, the Commander immediately mobilized his men who accompanied him to the area which is about five kilometers from Mamfe, the Divisional Headquarters of Manyu. Separatists who had taken cover there then opened fire.

The killing of the five Gendarme officers is one of the deadliest blow to the defence and security forces in recent months.

The five add to a long list of people killed since an industrial strike by teachers and lawyers in the English speaking North West and South West regions of the country metamorphosed into an armed conflict.