President Paul Biya on Monday condemned an attack on school children in the country’s conflict-torn English-speaking region of Northwest, which left a 15-year-old student killed and more than 40 others injured.

The blast occurred Sunday in Nkambe, a town in the region, as schoolchildren were taking part in activities to mark the National Youth Day.

Biya said it was a “heinous act” committed by “cowardly criminals.”

“I strongly condemn this terrorist attack,” Biya said on his social media platform.

“These acts of terrorism, which occurred on the very day of the festivities dedicated to Cameroon’s youth were clearly intended to disrupt the prevailing patriotic atmosphere and stir fear in peoples’ hearts,” Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute also said in a statement on his social media platform.

Ngute said that the government was determined “to put all these criminals out of action” to restore security and peace in the country.

Separatists had imposed a three-day lockdown to disrupt the activities in the two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, where they have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent nation they call “Ambazonia.”

Source: Xinhuanet