Ambazonia Restoration Forces in the Manyu County said on Monday its Akwaya branch carried out an attack on an army boat in Agborkem and that its fighters killed 13 Cameroon government army soldiers.

A Cameroon military source who spoke to our Mamfe correspondent on Tuesday put the toll higher, saying up to 7 soldiers were still missing after Southern Cameroons fighters attacked the troops on patrol.  He said fighting lasted for about five hours. A Roman Catholic priest said he saw the bodies of eight dead Cameroon soldiers at the banks of the Agborkem River.

The attack in the historic Southern Cameroons village of Agborkem, in which the Manyu Defense Council said the army post also came under attack, followed a similar assault on French Cameroun soldiers in Batibo.  The attacks raise questions about Biya regime assertions to have almost defeated the Ambazonia Self Defense fighters.

Yaounde did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The war in Southern Cameroons has killed more than 3000 Ambazonians and displaced about half a million since 2017. President Biya won a 7^th term after a counterfeit elections condemned by the international community.

By Rita Akana in Mamfe