Image caption
In the video broadcast on children, the man holding the camera turns against him in the end.
An army search operation is under way in Cameroon to rescue dozens of abductees from an internship.
At least 79 students and three others were arrested Monday in Bamenda, capital of the North West region, a government official told the BBC
The government and English-speaking separatists have accused each other of Orchestrated the kidnapping.
The northwestern and southwestern regions of Cameroon have been hit by a secessionist rebellion in recent years. 19659007] Regional Governor Adolphe Lele Africa Deben Tchoffo accused the separatist militias of being responsible for the kidnapping.
But English-speaking separatists accuse the government of organizing the kidnapping, with the goal of discrediting their movement.
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The English-speaking rebels of Cameroon
What do we know so far?
Militias who demanded the independence of the two English-speaking regions, called for a boycott of the school.
But no group reported having kidnapped students and the director of the Bamenda Presbyterian High School, which houses students aged 10 to 14 years
. the children, allegedly filmed by one of the kidnappers, are shared on social networks.
The students, all boys and piled up in a tiny room, look nervous when the person holding the camera orders them to say their name and where they come from.
They also repeat the sentence: "I was kidnapped" The boys from Amba visited us at school last night. I do not know where I am. "
Amba is the abbreviation of Ambazonia, name of the new country that the separatists want to create.
A student who managed to avoid captured by hiding under a bed, told the BBC that the events were quickly unfolded when the kidnappers had entered the school.
"One of my friends, they beat him ruthlessly. All I could think of was to stay calm. They threatened to shoot. some people … all the big boys that they picked up and the little ones that they left behind. "
A school teacher describes what she saw when entering the principal's office after students were taken from different dormitories.
" The military came in and went at the main house where we realized that her door was broken and that the glbades were still there, on the floor, "she told the BBC.
What did the kidnappers do?
The moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the very reverend Fonki Samuel Forba, told the BBC that he had spoken to the kidnappers.
"They do not want ransom. All they want is that we close the schools. We promised to close them, "he told the BBC.
" We hope and pray that they will free the children and the teachers, "he added.
Ngala Killian Chimtom of the BBC reports that on October 19, five students from the BBC's bilingual high school were abducted by unidentified gunmen and still do not know where they are.
Separatists say the system Cameroonian school removes the Anglophone system that the North West and South West regions inherited from the British
How did the Anglophone crisis begin?] The militias, who want to create Ambazonia, began to appear in 2017 after a crackdown by security forces led by lawyers and teachers against the government's alleged failure to give sufficient recognition to the English legal and educational systems of the North, West and South-West.
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Media legend Giving meaning to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon
The government was accused of strongly relying on people formed in the French legal and educational tradition occupy key positions and generally marginalize the English-speaking minority in Cameroon, which represents about 20% of the population.
This is not a new grievance. Many English speakers have long complained that their regions have been neglected and excluded from power since a 1972 referendum that saw Cameroon abandon its federal form and become a unitary state.
Some, including the International Crisis Group, are planning to return to Cameroon. federal system of two states – one anglophone, the other francophone
President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, was recently re-elected for a seventh term with more than 70% of the vote.
Opposition parties allege that the ballot was rigged, but legal attempts to reverse the result failed.
The president was sworn in on Tuesday, which was declared a national holiday.
Cameroon – still divided. along the colonial lines
Copyright of the author Alamy
Image caption
The boundaries of Africa were "cut off" by the colonial powers
Colonized by Germany in 1884
British and French troops force Germans to leave in 1916
Cameroon is divided three years later – 80% goes to the French and 20% to the British [19659012] French-led French-controlled Cameroon becomes independent in 1960
Following a referendum, South Cameroonians (British) join Cameroon, while North Cameroonians join Anglophone Nigeria
