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by Associated Press
YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Armed separatists have kidnapped at least 78 students and their principal from a Presbyterian school in Nkwen village in Cameroon's restive northwest region, a governor said Monday.
The late kidnapping Sunday took place near Bamenda, the capital of the troubled English-speaking region, according to Governor Deben Tchoffo.
"Amba boys," "Amba boys," "Amba boys," "Amba boys," "Amba boys," "Amba boys."
In the video, the kidnappers force several young men to give their names and the names of their parents. The children say they were kidnapped late Sunday by the armed men and they are not know where they are being held.
The men who identify themselves on the video as the kidnappers say they will only release when they achieve what they want.
"We'll be going to school now," say the men. The video could not be verified, but parents said that they recognized their children in the video.
In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa Samira Daoud called the abduction "appalling" and said they are escalating the escalation in the region.
"Whoever is responsible for the release and return of the victims immediately," Daoud said.
She added: "We express solidarity with the families of these children and ask that the Cameroon authorities do everything in their power to ensure all the pupils and school staff are freed unharmed. In a case with a chilling echo of the 2014 kidnappings of the Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria, it is vital that Cameroon's government act swiftly and decisively to reunite these children with their loved ones.
Hundreds have been killed in Cameroon's English-speaking regions in the past year, where violence between armed separatists and the military has increased. The demonstrators claim that they are marginalized by the French-speaking government.
Violent separatists have had to take up arms to destabilize the Anglophone regions to win independence for the areas they want to declare a separate state, which they call Ambazonia. They have mounted attacks against civilians who do not support their cause.
There have been other kidnappings from schools in the region, but this is the largest number kidnapped at once. Armed separatists have even killed teachers who defied instructions to keep schools closed. They have had at least a hundred schools and chased students and teachers from which schools.
Last week separatist activists attacked workers on a state-run rubber plantation in southwestern Cameroon, chopping off their fingers
An American missionary also died in the northwest region of Bamenda when he was shot in the head of fighting between armed separatists and soldiers.
The President of the United States President Paul Biya, who has led the United States since 1982, has reportedly been marked by irregularities. The government did away with presidential term several years ago, part of a trend in Africa that has dismayed many. Biya will be inaugurated Tuesday, and many opposition supporters will say they will continue demonstrations until he leaves power.
Kalhan Rosenblatt Contributed.
