Some 63 civilians who were held on Monday in the Lebialem County in Southern Cameroons were released Wednesday night, according to local authorities.

“The armed group released 25 people on Tuesday and the rest of us were released late Wednesday. Some of us who could afford paid a ransom before we were freed. We were maltreated,” one of those who held said but preferred not to be named.

Cameroon government army spokesman said, the abduction was led by a separatist commander nicknamed “general Aekeh” who is “notorious for atrocities against civilians” in the locality.

The 63 civilians who included children and women were abducted at their homes and a bar in Mmouck Leteh, a locality in Lebialem County.

Southern Cameroons have seen a rise in clashes between French Cameroun government forces and armed Ambazonia Restoration Groups in spite of repeated calls by the United Nations for the establishment of a ceasefire amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2017, Southern Cameroonians have been fighting to maintain an independent nation which they established and named as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

By Fon Lawrence with files from Xinhuanet