At least six people have been killed after gunmen attacked Pinyin village in the Northwest, local residents and security sources said on Monday.

Residents of the village interviewed said the gunmen raided the village on Sunday and shot six civilians, all male, at close range.

Separatist fighters have been active in the village since 2017 and villagers have recently asked them to leave, citing rampant kidnapping for ransom, said a security source in the region.

“The villagers have been complaining about atrocities committed by the separatists. So, last week they captured and killed two separatist fighters,” the source said, adding that the killing of the civilians on Sunday was apparently an act of revenge.

A separatist insurgency has been going on in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017. Separatists want to create an independent nation in the regions.

Source: Xinhuanet